Women aged over 50 who get pregnant using donor eggs do not appear to face greater risks of complications than younger women using the same assisted baby making technologies, according to one of the largest studies to date of older mothers.
A team led by a pioneer in the donor eggs pregnancies in post-menopausal women found that, compared with women 42 and younger, women in their 50s undergoing IVF with donated eggs had similar rates of gestational hypertension, diabetes, caesarean delivery and premature birth.
For both groups, the outcomes in their babies were "excellent and similar," Dr. Mark Sauer, professor and chief of the division of reproductive endocrinology at Columbia University.
Older women
"The demographics of pregnant women in the United States and Canada are changing. In Canada, 11 per cent of first births now occur in women aged 35 and older, up from five per cent in 1987. Births to women 50 and older are also increasing through the availability of IVF with eggs donated from younger women.
Clinics reject older women
But some clinics have been reluctant to accept older women. "The argument has been, 'Oh, you're menopausal, you can't possible have a child without all this horrible risk," said Dr. Roger Pierson, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Saskatchewan. "In this very highly selected population, we know that's not true now," he said. "What this study is saying is that, with the age of the (donor) eggs being constant, it doesn't matter whether you put them in a pre-menopausal woman or a post-menopausal woman." For the new study, researchers studied 101 consecutive women aged 50 to 59 who became pregnant via IVF and eggs donated from younger women at the Columbia University Centre for Reproductive Care. Their pregnancy results were compared with those of younger egg-donor recipients.
Same risks
Overall, the team found that the older women were at higher risk for complications, notably C-sections and hypertensive disorders, than younger women who spontaneously conceive on their own. But at similar rates to those seen in younger women also using donated eggs. The study has some important limitations: The sample size was small. In addition, both groups of women — younger and older — were screened for good health to begin with. "There's an obvious selection bias," Sauer said. "None of these are accidental pregnancies. None of these 50-year-olds just woke up pregnant and (said), 'now what?' These are women of means who have good medical resources available to them" and who were carefully screened for diabetes, cardiovascular illness and other conditions that might complicate pregnancy.
Shrinking egg supply
In addition, the finding doesn't escape the reality that the supply and quality of a woman's eggs shrinks over time — and that by the time a woman reaches her early- to mid-30s, each egg offers less chance of pregnancy and a higher risk of miscarriage. Says Pierson: "Many of us are trying to make women understand the consequences of the choice they make when they delay their pregnancy. "And that is that you may not be able to conceive with your own egg." Still risks Johnson said the study doesn't take away from the fact that the risks of pregnancy increase with maternal age. "That's not changing that information at all," she said.
Read more at: www.canada.com/health/
A team led by a pioneer in the donor eggs pregnancies in post-menopausal women found that, compared with women 42 and younger, women in their 50s undergoing IVF with donated eggs had similar rates of gestational hypertension, diabetes, caesarean delivery and premature birth.
For both groups, the outcomes in their babies were "excellent and similar," Dr. Mark Sauer, professor and chief of the division of reproductive endocrinology at Columbia University.
Older women
"The demographics of pregnant women in the United States and Canada are changing. In Canada, 11 per cent of first births now occur in women aged 35 and older, up from five per cent in 1987. Births to women 50 and older are also increasing through the availability of IVF with eggs donated from younger women.
Clinics reject older women
But some clinics have been reluctant to accept older women. "The argument has been, 'Oh, you're menopausal, you can't possible have a child without all this horrible risk," said Dr. Roger Pierson, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Saskatchewan. "In this very highly selected population, we know that's not true now," he said. "What this study is saying is that, with the age of the (donor) eggs being constant, it doesn't matter whether you put them in a pre-menopausal woman or a post-menopausal woman." For the new study, researchers studied 101 consecutive women aged 50 to 59 who became pregnant via IVF and eggs donated from younger women at the Columbia University Centre for Reproductive Care. Their pregnancy results were compared with those of younger egg-donor recipients.
Same risks
Overall, the team found that the older women were at higher risk for complications, notably C-sections and hypertensive disorders, than younger women who spontaneously conceive on their own. But at similar rates to those seen in younger women also using donated eggs. The study has some important limitations: The sample size was small. In addition, both groups of women — younger and older — were screened for good health to begin with. "There's an obvious selection bias," Sauer said. "None of these are accidental pregnancies. None of these 50-year-olds just woke up pregnant and (said), 'now what?' These are women of means who have good medical resources available to them" and who were carefully screened for diabetes, cardiovascular illness and other conditions that might complicate pregnancy.
Shrinking egg supply
In addition, the finding doesn't escape the reality that the supply and quality of a woman's eggs shrinks over time — and that by the time a woman reaches her early- to mid-30s, each egg offers less chance of pregnancy and a higher risk of miscarriage. Says Pierson: "Many of us are trying to make women understand the consequences of the choice they make when they delay their pregnancy. "And that is that you may not be able to conceive with your own egg." Still risks Johnson said the study doesn't take away from the fact that the risks of pregnancy increase with maternal age. "That's not changing that information at all," she said.
Read more at: www.canada.com/health/
