New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) The capacity to reproduce both in males and females beyond the age of 30 has witnessed a steep decline due to lifestyle and environmental changes, fertility experts said.
According to the experts, until two decades ago females could become pregnant even in their late 30s, but now the only option left for even younger women to conceive is through IVF.
Women are born with with 1-2 million eggs, which is reduced to 100-200 thousand in the early 20s. As they enter late 20s, there is a slight dip in their fertility, which has increased over the years.
"Quantity does not matter for female fertility but quality of eggs does. Women have the best quality eggs at the early and mid 20s. Conceiving after 30 has become hard due to the sedentry lifestyle they are living these days. Cigarette smoking and consumption of alcohol, caffeine has caused it," said Mayuri Assudani, Chief Infertility and IVF Specialist at Nagpur.
Stating that unlike decades ago, nowadays women witness a decline of 1,000 egg counts after reaching the age of 30, Assudani said that among other problems causing infertility in women are several tubal issues.
"Odds of miscarriage increase from 30s and eggs are more likely to get chromosomal problems. In today's era, in 40s very few women will have a successful pregnancy, and the odds of conceiving are almost nil beyond that. Life style changes have brought the menopause in women quite early at the age of 40s," said Kshitiz Murdia, an fertility expert at Indira IVF.
According to a London based study, at least one in eight women and one in 10 men in Britain has experienced infertility, yet nearly half of them have not sought medical help.
Urging women to keep their Body Mass Index (BMI) intact by following a nutrient-rich diet and reducing the consumption of alcohol and caffeine products, Murdia said the quality of sperms also has started getting affected due to the lifestyle in each decade.
"Unlike decades ago where the lifestyle of people was healthy, nowadays a male person in his late 20s and 30s witnesses a decline both in the quality and quantity of sperm due to excessive smoking, drinking and environmental toxins," said Murdia.
According to the doctors, the motility of sperms reduces and they are of abnormal shape in the late 30s and 40s, which leads to high probability of the baby being born with autism or schizophrenia.
"Also it takes men longer time to conceive his partner. Hormonal issues and kidney disorders tend to occupy a man's body in the late 40s, thereby decreasing his fertility," said Nikita Rawal, Indore based IVF Specialist.
Fertility experts have said that in every typical ejaculation, 2-6 ml semen is produced. The other parameters which have got affected by the lifestyle and environmental issues are thickness of semen, sperm density and sperm motility.
