Have you ever wondered what your ovarian reserve is? Would you like to know how many eggs you have, or if you have enough quality eggs to get pregnant? Perhaps some of these questions have been on your mind on more than one occasion. Below, we’ll answer all your questions about ovarian reserve, but let’s start at the beginning…
By ovarian reserve we mean the quantity and quality of eggs available in a woman’s ovaries at any given time, as it varies over time. This is a key indicator to measure fertility and the state of fertility.
There are several factors that can influence – for better or worse – ovarian reserve. In the following section, we will look in detail at these decisive circumstances, which will help us to get closer to the individual reality of each woman.
Factors influencing fertility and ovarian reserve
Although there are several factors that determine how many eggs each woman has, there are three that stand out above the rest. These are age, each person’s medical conditions and genetics, although lifestyle (smoking or alcohol consumption, for example), obesity or chronic stress can also be mentioned. In this case, we will focus on the three most important of these.
Age: Thanks to research presented at the annual congress of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), we know that ‘a woman’s age plays an important role in fertility by affecting the endometrium’. As the years go by, the ovarian reserve gradually diminishes, as the number of eggs a woman is born with is finite. Especially after the age of 35, which is when this reduction in the number of eggs accelerates, as well as a drop in their quality.
Medical conditions: Although age is a key factor to take into account, so are the medical conditions of each individual. Diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis or treatments such as chemotherapy play an important role. These conditions can damage ovarian cells, which directly affects ovarian reserve.
Genetics: Some women may suffer from diminished ovarian reserve due to genetic predispositions. One of the most common is early ovarian failure.
Habits: It has been shown that diet, physical activity and smoking or alcohol have an impact on ovarian reserve and egg quality.
Due to the importance of these factors for female fertility, it is essential to be aware of them in order to plan motherhood or to consider the option of preserving eggs. It should be borne in mind that it is not possible to increase a woman’s ovarian reserve at any stage of life, although there are treatments that preserve eggs at a time of maximum quality.
OVARIAN RESERVE
Causes of the decrease
To improve the quality of oocytes it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle. That is why it is useful to know which factors can negatively affect the ovarian reserve.
INFECTIONS
AGE
OBESITY
ALCOHOL
TOBACCO
RADIATION
There are specific treatments that serve to successfully preserve future fertility. This means that the eggs or embryos can be used at a later date. The most common procedure is egg vitrification, which is available at Ovoclinic.
Egg vitrification is a procedure in which eggs are removed from the ovaries, frozen in an ultra-rapid method and stored for later use. It aims to preserve the quality of the eggs at the time they are retrieved. It is especially useful for young women who wish to delay childbearing or for patients with diagnoses that may affect fertility, such as cancer.
It is interesting, therefore, to measure the ovarian reserve at different stages of a woman’s life if her present and/or future goal is pregnancy. Therefore, at Ovoclinic we encourage all women to visit our assisted reproduction clinics (Madrid, Marbella, Seville and Ceuta) to find out their respective ovarian reserve or to become egg donors, as this indicator is key to the fertility of all women.
Egg Vitrification Success Rates
These particular techniques have completely revolutionised the world of assisted reproduction in the world. Also in Spain, where the success rates of egg vitrification are very high. So much so that Spain is one of the countries with the highest percentage of egg cell survival. In total, more than 90% of the vitrified eggs manage to survive, which guarantees that the majority of eggs will maintain their initial quality.
In fact, pregnancy success rates with vitrified eggs are equal to those of fresh eggs.
