A 48-year-old woman managed to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF) using her own eggs, becoming the older woman in scientific report getting pregnant with this type of procedure. The case was recorded in the latest edition of the magazine JBRA Assisted Reproduction, a quarterly publication of the Brazilian Society of Assisted Reproduction.
According to a study by the Latin American Network for Assisted Reproduction (Redlara), women over 42 have a 5% lower chance of getting pregnant with their own eggs. The survey shows that 53.6% of women this age need donated eggs.
A is a procedure that consists of fertilizing the egg and sperm in a laboratory environment, forming embryos that will be selected and transferred to the woman’s uterus. In other words, it is a type of assisted reproduction and is recommended for same-sex couples, people with deep endometriosis, men with low sperm concentration or mobility, women with low ovarian reserve or those who want to become pregnant independently, among other cases.
According to Claudia Gomes Padilla, specialist at Huntington Reproductive Medicine and responsible for , it is more difficult to get pregnant after the age of 42, even through in vitro fertilization.
“To have good embryos we need a good number of eggs, with good quality. For example, a 30-year-old woman who has seven eggs, we will get an average of two to three embryos. In a 40-year-old woman who has these same seven eggs, we will probably only get one embryo and, sometimes, none”, Padilla explains to CNN.
According to the expert, this formed embryo may have some genetic alteration, as as the woman ages, the woman’s eggs may undergo changes that make the formation of an embryo suitable for implantation unfeasible.
“That’s why, generally, patients have several attempts to achieve pregnancy and some, unfortunately, will not obtain good eggs to achieve this”, he states.
How was the procedure performed?
According to Padilla, five eggs were collected from the patient, resulting in three developed embryos. Given the high probability of chromosomal alterations (95% to 100%) in this age group, as explained previously, an embryonic biopsy was performed on the embryos, resulting in a genetically viable embryo for implantation.
After the embryo transfer, the good news came: the patient became pregnant and gave birth to a girl. “This triumph is particularly notable, it was the first fertilization treatment, no woman of that age had achieved success in similar attempts”, explains the specialist.
Padilla says that the patient went through a process of preparation for fertilization, including supplementation, adequate nutrition, maintaining body weight and undergoing . “We carried out an assessment of her hormones, we prepared her body for this stimulation. But, as we do with all our patients, we use an incubator, where the embryos are being cultivated”, he adds.
The specialist emphasizes that, in addition to good preparation, the patient had no other risk factors that could negatively influence the success of in vitro fertilization, such as endometriosis, polycystic ovaries and . Furthermore, her husband also had normal sperm.
“She also had a history of two previous pregnancies, that is, a history of previous fertility. So, this is certainly a differentiator for success in this case”, he adds.
In the expert’s view, this case not only represents a victory for the patient and her family, but also a significant advance in reproductive medicine practices, bringing new hope to many women who aspire to motherhood after the age of 42.
