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How Does Age Impact IVF Success?

Oct 01, 2022
How Does Age Impact IVF Success?
Your ability to conceive doesn’t magically shut off the day you turn 40, but it’s proven that your ability to conceive naturally does decline as you age. Here’s how age affects IVF success rates.

Infertility affects up to 15% of couples trying to conceive, and many turn to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to realize their dreams of having a baby. At Effortless IVF in Fort Worth and Bedford, Texas, our infertility specialist, Kevin Doody, MD, offers IVF options to help couples conceive, even after age 40.

While many fertility facilities stop providing treatment to women after age 40, Effortless IVF can help people up to age 45. Here’s what you need to know about how your age can impact your IVF success rate.

There is no magic number for infertility

Your ability to conceive doesn’t magically shut off the day you turn 40, but it’s proven that your ability to conceive naturally declines as you age. Women’s fertility rates begin to decline as early as age 28, and then the rate of decline accelerates when you reach the age of 35, and accelerates once again between the ages of 39 and 42.


Women are born with all the eggs they will have in their lifetime. Many of the eggs never mature, and half of all eggs have chromosomal abnormalities, even during your prime fertile years. As you age, the number of eggs with genetic problems increases and eventually, you run out of viable eggs. Most women lose their ability to conceive naturally about ten years before reaching menopause.

Fertile women at age 30 have about a 20% chance of getting pregnant each month after unprotected sex. By the age of 40, your chances of natural conception following unprotected intercourse are less than 5%. But how does your age affect the success rate of IVF?

How the aging process affects IVF success rates

The University of New South Wales conducted a study and found women who start IVF before age 30 have a 43% chance of having a baby after one cycle of IVF, 59% chance after two cycles, and 66% chance after three cycles.

Women starting IVF at age 35 had only slightly lower success rates, with 40% chance of having a baby after one cycle, 54% chance after two rounds, and 61% chance after three rounds.

For women trying IVF at age 40, there is only a 13% chance of a baby after round one, 21% after two rounds, and 25% after three rounds.

The study highlights the effects of the aging process on the ability to conceive using IVF, although your chances of conceiving with IVF as you get older are still higher than they would be naturally.

Find out if you’re a candidate for Effortless IVF

Effortless IVF is unique from traditional IVF methods that rely on external incubation equipment to fertilize the egg in a petri dish. Instead, Effortless IVF uses the INVOcell® device where the harvested eggs and sperm are combined. The device is inserted into the woman’s vagina, so the embryo's early development can occur in her body instead of in an IVF lab.

If you’re under the age of 45 and meet our criteria for success, Dr. Doody may be able to help you become a parent. Call your nearest Effortless IVF office in Fort Worth or Bedford, Texas, to learn more, or schedule a consultation online any time.