Fertility doctors say there is a need for “more realistic expectations” as major research detailed the sharp decline in fertility between the ages of 38 and 44.
The study – the largest of its kind – shows that at the age of 38 around 24% of women having fertility treatment went on to have a baby. But by the age of 44 the figure was just 1.3%, with a significant decline in live birth rates seen between the ages of 41 and 42.
In all, a woman of 38 trying for a baby was 18 times more likely to succeed than a woman five years older, the research figures show.
