How Age Affects Female Fertility A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have. This is known as her ovarian reserve. With each menstrual cycle, the number of available eggs decreases, and ...

But here’s the catch: fertility treatments aren’t a guarantee. “Success rates with IVF decline with age, and after the mid-40s many women opt to utilize egg donation,” Goldman said.

Fertility peaks between the late teens and 20s, when women have an 85% chance of conceiving within a year. By age 30, that percentage drops to 75. At 40, it's sunk to 44%.

Women’s fertility tends to decline starting in their mid-30s, which can make it harder to have kids in middle age. Now scientists have identified a mechanism that seems to accelerate aging of ...