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Are My Eggs too Old?

QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
I am a 43-year-old female with a past history of 2 miscarriages. I have had a FTNSVD when I was 26. I had my first miscarriage when I was 42, and it was a blighted ovum. The second miscarriage this year, it was twins. They had low heart rate. They passed, one at 6.5 weeks the other at 7.5 weeks. I decided to have a D&C this last time.

My doctor said it was "probably due to old eggs." I really have a desire to have another baby. Would it be very risky if I were to try again? Is there any chance that I could have a full-term pregnancy?

The doctor told me that it was due to old eggs, but he also said the stress from the death of the one twin, caused the other one to die. I am confused. Is there NO hope

ANSWER

There is always hope. It could happen. But I also understand why your doctor is saying what s/he's saying. If you can afford it, a "young egg" would probably make all the difference in the world.

I had a client in a similar situation, except she was 49, who kept miscarrying with her new husband. They used his sperm and donated eggs, and now have very healthy year-old twins (a boy and a girl) who look like their dad.

-- Cynthia, CNM. PhD.

Cynthia Flynn

Cynthia Flynn, CNM. PhD, is the General Director of the Family Health and Birth Center which provides prenatal, birth, postnatal, gynecological and primary health care to underserved women and their families in Washington, D.C. Recently Cynthia served as Associate Professor of Nursing at Seattle University. There she not only taught, but remained in full scope clinical midwifery practice at Valley Medical Center where she cared for pregnant and birthing women, and practices well-woman gynecology, family planning, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Cynthia founded Columbia Women's Clinic and Birth Center, where she took care of pregnant women and infants up to two weeks of age and attended both birth center and hospital births. Before Cynthia earned her CNM, she worked as a registered nurse in labor and delivery and postpartum and is a certified Doula and Doula trainer.