Woman's age a major factor in assisted reproduction

AORN Journal, March, 2005

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that the younger a woman is when she undergoes assisted reproductive technology (ART), the more Likely she is to have a Live birth using her own eggs, according to a Jan 7, 2005, news release from the CDC. According to the report's authors, women in their 20s and early 30s who used ART had the most success with becoming pregnant and the highest rate of single live births. Success rates declined steadily when a woman reached her mid-30s, however.

The report, 2002 Assisted Reproductive Technology Success Rates, found that 37% of fresh nondonor procedures initiated in 2002 among women under age 35 resulted in Live births. This percentage decreased to 31% among women aged 35 to 37 years, 21% among women aged 38 to 40, 11% among women aged 41 to 42, and 4% among women older than 42. The report also found that

* more than 45,000 babies were born in the United States with the help ART procedures carried out in 2002, up from 40,687 babies born as a result of ART in 2001;

* 28.3% of ART procedures resulted in the birth of a baby for women who used their own freshly fertilized eggs--a slight increase in the success rate of the previous year (ie, 27.0%); and

* approximately 35% of ART deliveries among women who used their own freshly fertilized eggs were multiple births (ie, twins or more), compared with 3% in the general US population during the same time period.

The report was generated from information provided to the CDC by 391 reporting fertility clinics throughout the United States and is intended to help consumers make informed decisions about having a baby through ART treatment. The full report is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/art.htm.> Latest CDC Report Offers More Evidence that a Woman's Age is a Major Factor in Determining Success of Assisted Reproductive Technology (news release, Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jan 7, 2005) http:// www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r050107.htm (accessed 25 Jan 2005).