Daily Telegraph 17th September 2008
Australian IVF clinics are seeing an increase in the number of older women seeking fertility treatment.
By Kate Sikora
WITH more celebrities such as Nicole Kidman having babies over age 40, Australian IVF clinics are seeing an increase in the number of older women seeking fertility treatment.
But specialists are warning that the celebrity couple trend is ``not helpful'', and are giving false hope to women who delay having children.
Statistics today reveal that of the proportion of women who seek IVF, one in five are now aged over 40.
Those aged 45 or over only have a two per cent chance of becoming pregnant.
There were 9291 IVF babies born in Australia in 2006 and the number is growing at a rate of five per cent a year.
Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveal the average age has also risen to 35.6 years, compared to 35.2 in 2002.
But more than half of all women who attend IVF Australia clinics are now aged over 36. Women aged 45 years or older, had an average pregnancy rate of just two per cent, which equated to one live birth for every 117 cycles.
Professor Michael Chapman said ``it wasn't helpful'' when high profile couples had IVF babies later in life.
``Despite the increase in success rates in women over 40, the majority [over 40] who come for IVF treatment go away without a baby,'' he said.
The optimal age to become pregnant is between 25 and 30, when fertility is at its peak, after which fertility begins to drop until at 35, women have an 80 per cent chance of falling pregnant.
By age 40, the success rate falls to 60 per cent, Prof Chapman said.
First time parents Kathy and Rod Wagener were thrilled when they conceived last year after several attempts.
At 44, Mrs Wagener is one of a growing number of women seeking IVF.
``If you are really committed to being a parent, then go for it,'' she said.
``Don't leave it a second longer.''