There are probably many ways to look at this question, but one way is to look at infertility numbers by gender. Many times, infertility is caused by more than one factor, but 65% of the cases are related to the woman, and 20% are the man. (The other 15% of cases, the cause is not found in any partner).
Another tidbit: the man's fertility does decrease as he get older, but it does not start as early (for women, the percent chance that she will conceive in any one menstrual cycle starts to decline in her early 30s, and even more after age 35).
So, statistically speaking, in your example: the younger both partners are, the "more fertile" you may be. So, the short answer to your question may be, "yes, you are more fertile as a couple if one of you are younger. You are even more fertile as a couple if you have a 6-year age difference, but are both in your 20s, statistically speaking." However, in your example, the woman is still the same age (and, over 35) and I'm not sure how much impact the 6 years of age in the male would have on his fertility vs. the woman being over 35 years of age. It is just so dependent on many other factors!
According to ACOG, "For healthy, young couples, the odds are about 20% that a woman will conceive in any one menstrual cycle." I thought this was interesting, because I thought the percent would be higher! After age 35, the odds are lower. However, there are so many factors, including lifestyle, health history, weight, etc that effect fertility beyond age.
I am interested to read if anyone has any further information!
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What an interesting question.
There are probably many ways to look at this question, but one way is to look at infertility numbers by gender. Many times, infertility is caused by more than one factor, but 65% of the cases are related to the woman, and 20% are the man. (The other 15% of cases, the cause is not found in any partner).
Another tidbit: the man's fertility does decrease as he get older, but it does not start as early (for women, the percent chance that she will conceive in any one menstrual cycle starts to decline in her early 30s, and even more after age 35).
So, statistically speaking, in your example: the younger both partners are, the "more fertile" you may be. So, the short answer to your question may be, "yes, you are more fertile as a couple if one of you are younger. You are even more fertile as a couple if you have a 6-year age difference, but are both in your 20s, statistically speaking." However, in your example, the woman is still the same age (and, over 35) and I'm not sure how much impact the 6 years of age in the male would have on his fertility vs. the woman being over 35 years of age. It is just so dependent on many other factors!
According to ACOG, "For healthy, young couples, the odds are about 20% that a woman will conceive in any one menstrual cycle." I thought this was interesting, because I thought the percent would be higher! After age 35, the odds are lower. However, there are so many factors, including lifestyle, health history, weight, etc that effect fertility beyond age.
I am interested to read if anyone has any further information!
Have you been trying to conceive?
February 5, 2009 - 3:50pmThis Comment
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