Karen was almost 40 when she and her husband were finally ready to start a family. However, things don’t always go as planned. After more than a year of trying to get pregnant she started to get worried and convinced her family physician to refer her to a fertility specialist. “I felt this huge sense of urgency. At my age I knew time was of the essence,” says Karen.
As more and more women are delaying starting a family until their thirties and even forties, the rate of infertility is rising with 1 in 6 couples experiencing fertility issues. Many women don’t realize that their fertility peaks in the mid-twenties and drops off after 35: a healthy woman at age 30 has about a 20% chance per month of conceiving. By the time she reaches 40, her chances drop to about 5% per month.
When Karen was finally referred to Dr. Ginevra Mills, a fertility specialist at Olive Fertility Centre Victoria, her relief was overwhelming. “The emotional toll this takes can be brutal,” says Karen. “One thing you desperately need during your fertility journey is a fertility doctor who really understands what you are going through and treats you as a whole person.”
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