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Nobody is saying it's impossible, on average - but people aren't aggregate statistics. Some women are already going to be unable to get pregnant by 35, more by

Nobody is saying it's impossible, on average - but people aren't aggregate statistics. Some women are already going to be unable to get pregnant by 35, more by forty. Many more will struggle, but might be able to get pregnant. I believe the study you cited is biased by excluding some of these as 'unhealthy' - essentially it is limiting the population to just women who still can get pregnant at these ages. Once more, the number of chromosomal abnormalities skyrockets after 30 and by 40 around three quarters of eggs (or more, for an individual) will have serious abnormalities. Even if only a small fraction of women would struggle at 35, but could have gotten pregnant at 25 - for her it's a tragedy. And she is not helped by these messages that 'no worries it's easy to get pregnant at 40'

NationalPark 5y ago
Well that is a much softer point than the one I was responding to which called the age related fertility decline “monumental” in support of the implied conclusion that it is somehow imperative for otherwise healthy women to have children by their 30s. Regarding your anecdote I do not see its relevance to a discussion of population statistics. People can be infertile because they were paralyzed in a car accident but that doesn’t mean the original claim wasn’t overstated and now walked back. Regardless, I think narrowing in this specifically on reproductive biology of women in the context of who you date and how you think about relationships is a recipe for failure. Not only does it have somewhat creepy bio-essentialist connotations, but socioeconomic factors and healthcare access also have huge impacts on the health and success of any given pregnancy and childhood/life. In short, "I have to date right now because I'm 30 and my hypothetical childbearing vessels are becoming less optimal" is an unhealthy and probably incorrect attitude.
- throwawaygal7 5y ago
  I'd agree that it's a poor sole reason to date, but its definitely something to think about if you really want children. Two of my girlfriends in their mid 30s are 'technically' able to get pregnant but functifinally unable due to PCOS - its biologically possible for them to get pregnant (handful of viable eggs left, occasional good cycles). Not a lot of women get advice as teens like 'you have PCOS, you're going to really struggle to have children and its only going to get worse if you wait'.

NationalPark 5y ago

Well that is a much softer point than the one I was responding to which called the age related fertility decline “monumental” in support of the implied conclusion that it is somehow imperative for otherwise healthy women to have children by their 30s. Regarding your anecdote I do not see its relevance to a discussion of population statistics. People can be infertile because they were paralyzed in a car accident but that doesn’t mean the original claim wasn’t overstated and now walked back. Regardless, I think narrowing in this specifically on reproductive biology of women in the context of who you date and how you think about relationships is a recipe for failure. Not only does it have somewhat creepy bio-essentialist connotations, but socioeconomic factors and healthcare access also have huge impacts on the health and success of any given pregnancy and childhood/life. In short, "I have to date right now because I'm 30 and my hypothetical childbearing vessels are becoming less optimal" is an unhealthy and probably incorrect attitude.

throwawaygal7 5y ago
I'd agree that it's a poor sole reason to date, but its definitely something to think about if you really want children. Two of my girlfriends in their mid 30s are 'technically' able to get pregnant but functifinally unable due to PCOS - its biologically possible for them to get pregnant (handful of viable eggs left, occasional good cycles). Not a lot of women get advice as teens like 'you have PCOS, you're going to really struggle to have children and its only going to get worse if you wait'.