Birth After Menopause

Menopause is the end of the menstrual cycle. It also indicates the end of ovulation and fertility. Most women go through menopause in the late 40s to early 50s. For most women, menopause means the end of childbearing. But thanks to medical science, reproduction technologies have made it possible for women in their 70s to carry a child to term. While post-menopausal pregnancy (PMP) is controversial, it offers a way for women to have babies later in life.

History

• The first successful in vitro birth was in England in 1978. Five years earlier the first in vitro conception occurred, but the embryo only survived a few days. Children born of in vitro fertilization are often called "test tube babies," as actual fertilization takes place in a glass dish. In fact, "in vitro" is Latin for "within the glass."

Function

• In vitro fertilization is the only method that allows post-menopausal women to become pregnant and give birth. In vitro involves placing egg cells with sperm cells outside the womb. This procedure occurs in a clinic or laboratory setting. If fertilization takes place, an embryo develops. The embryo is then transferred to the womb or uterus of the woman who will carry the fetus. When a woman goes through menopause, her body stops producing eggs for fertilization, but her uterus is still functional, so she is able to get pregnant using alternative reproductive methods.

Considerations

• Because women who have gone through menopause no longer produce eggs, an egg donor is needed. Many fertility clinics enlist the services of healthy, young women who donate eggs via a surgical procedure. The eggs are then used by people who want to have a baby. With donated eggs, the woman carrying the baby has no biological or genetic connection to the fetus. The sperm used to fertilize the eggs can come from the woman's male partner or from a sperm donor. Many sperm banks are available to help infertile couples or post-menopausal women have a child.

Benefits

• The main benefit of in vitro is that a woman can have a baby at any age, even after menopause. Giving birth after menopause also gives a woman more options in deciding when or whether to have a child. While some people are against post-menopausal pregnancies, legally women have the right to use any reproductive technologies available.

Warning

• In vitro fertilization is a very expensive medical procedure. Costs vary from $10,000 to $20,000 per procedure. In many cases, the procedure does not work the first time, so subsequent procedures are needed.
  Another possible issue is multiple births. To increase the chances of a full-term pregnancy, doctors usually implant several embryos, and it is possible that more than one will survive. However, there is no guarantee that in vitro fertilization will work at all.