FAQs
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely.
What is the maximum age to get pregnant? ›
There is no set oldest age when you can get pregnant naturally, but fertility starts to decline as you age. You're usually not able to get pregnant between 5 and 10 years before menopause. You're born with all of the eggs you'll ever have. As you get older, the number of eggs you have decreases.
What age you can't have a baby? ›
After age 30, a woman's fertility decreases every year. The number and quality of her eggs goes down until she reaches menopause. Menopause usually happens around age 45 to 55. During that time, women stop having their periods and are no longer fertile.
Is 40 too old to have a baby? ›
If you get pregnant after 35 years old, experts call this an “advanced maternal age” pregnancy. But it's still possible to get pregnant and deliver a healthy baby in your 40s. Childbirth at older ages has become more common too. Since the 1990s, birth rates in people aged 40-44 have gone up.
Am I too old to have a baby at 47? ›
Having a baby after age 35 is more common than ever, but the buck doesn't stop there. Plenty of women are successfully having babies in their 40s and 50s, too. We've all heard about the tick-tock, tick-tock of that “biological clock,” and it's true — age can make a difference in terms of natural conception.
What's the oldest age a woman can get pregnant? ›
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely.
When is it too late to have kids? ›
If you've waited until a bit later in life to try to conceive, you may wonder if you're too old to have a baby. A pregnancy after age 35 automatically puts you in the “advanced maternal age” (AMA) category. But try your best to not let that label intimidate you — successful pregnancy after 35 is still common!
At what age is pregnancy no longer safe? ›
After age 35, there's a higher risk of pregnancy-related complications that might lead to a C-section delivery. The risk of chromosomal conditions is higher. Babies born to older mothers have a higher risk of certain chromosomal conditions, such as Down syndrome. The risk of pregnancy loss is higher.
Who is the youngest woman to ever get pregnant? ›
Lina Marcela Medina de Jurado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlina meˈðina]; born 23 September 1933) is a Peruvian woman who became the youngest confirmed mother in history when she gave birth to son Gerardo on 14 May 1939, aged five years, seven months, and 21 days.
Which age is best for pregnancy? ›
A woman's body is most fertile from the late teens through the 20s. Although many women in their 30s and older can conceive naturally, as time passes, the quantity and quality of eggs in the ovaries begin to decline. By the time a woman reaches her mid-30s to 40 years of age, this decline increases significantly.
A "high-risk" pregnancy means a woman has one or more things that raise her — or her baby's — chances for health problems or preterm (early) delivery. A woman's pregnancy might be considered high risk if she: is age 17 or younger. is age 35 or older.
Can you get pregnant at 44 with your own eggs? ›
It's entirely possible to get pregnant using your own eggs over 40. Yet, for some people, there seems to be an egg quality or quantity issue that we can't overcome. This is especially true for women over age 43 or 44. Donor eggs in this situation could greatly increase the chances of getting pregnant through IVF.
Has anyone got pregnant at 45? ›
Two hundred nine women who conceived spontaneously and had their most recent delivery after the age of 45 years.
Can you get pregnant at 52? ›
If you are trying to get pregnant after age 50, you will probably need some fertility help. While it's not impossible to become pregnant naturally at 50, it is very rare. Women are born with all of the eggs they will ever have. As you get older, you have fewer eggs, and they are more likely to have abnormalities.
What age does a woman stop being fertile? ›
The number of eggs decreases as women get older. At birth, most girls have about 2 million eggs, at adolescence that number has gone down to about 400, 000, at age 37 there remain about 25,000. By age 51 when women have their menopause they have about 1000 immature eggs but these are not fertile.
Can you get pregnant naturally at 49? ›
While Keaton had help with her pregnancy, it's possible to get pregnant naturally in your late 40s or 50s when you're going through perimenopause. But it' doesn't happen often. Keep in mind that celebrities posting baby bumps on social media don't always share the full story of their path to motherhood.
Is it possible to get pregnant at 50? ›
Age 40-44 – if you don't use contraception for a year and have regular sex, up to 20% of women will become pregnant. Age 45-50 – the chances are more like 10% Over 50 – the chance of pregnancy is significantly lower. Over the age of 55 – the chance of pregnancy is low enough for all women to stop using contraception.
At what age can a woman not get pregnant? ›
Women can't conceive after their menstrual cycles stop, usually sometime in your 40s or 50s. Men produce sperm throughout their lives, but women are born with a set number of eggs that decreases as you age.
At what age is it harder to get pregnant? ›
A woman in her early to mid-20s has a 25–30% chance of getting pregnant every month. Fertility generally starts to slowly decline when a woman is in her early 30s, and after the age of 35 the decline speeds up. By age 40, the chance of getting pregnant in any monthly cycle is around 5%.
Is 37 too old to have a baby? ›
While delivering at age 35 and older is officially considered “advanced maternal age,” Dr. Kalish notes that in reality, there's no “magic number” for being at-risk for complications. “A healthy 38-year-old could have an easier pregnancy than a 20-year-old who has multiple medical issues,” Dr.