Can a couple in their 50s have children?

I am 46 years old, my husband is 48 years old, married for 7 years but have no children. I have very low ovarian reserve, my husband has weak sperm.

Doctor, please advise me, do my wife and I still have a chance to have children? What treatment method should we use? (An Minh, Hoa Binh)

Reply:

In infertility treatment, the wife's age is a more important factor than the husband's age.

Every woman is born with a certain number of eggs. After the age of 35, the quantity and quality of eggs decrease rapidly, making it difficult to conceive. During menopause, women will run out of eggs. People with diseases and endocrine disorders will have a faster rate of ovarian reserve decline.

Assisted reproductive treatment in older women is challenging, due to the increased risk of oocyte abnormalities leading to embryo abnormalities. If pregnant, there is a risk of pregnancy complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes or fetal growth retardation, increasing the risk of stillbirth and premature birth.

At the Center for Assisted Reproduction, Ho Chi Minh City General Hospital (IVFTA HCM) in 2022, 70% of patients are wives or husbands aged 35 or older. The overall success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF) is 68.5%, but for couples over 43 years old, this rate is about 20%. Therefore, older couples who want children need assisted reproductive treatment as soon as possible.

For women with low ovarian reserve, doctors can stimulate ovulation, collect eggs for several cycles, then evaluate egg quality and predict the ability to create embryos. For women with poor egg quality or chromosomally abnormal embryos, egg donation is the last resort.

Before embryo transfer, the doctor examines the problems in the uterus and treats them thoroughly, possibly combining treatment with related diseases. Pregnant women are closely monitored, controlling the risk of complications, helping to ensure a safe pregnancy and healthy birth.

For men aged 40 and above like her husband, the ability to produce sperm has decreased, sperm is often very few and weak. However, as long as the husband still has sperm, the Andrology doctor can apply many techniques such as sperm extraction from the epididymis (TESE, micro-TESE) to find healthy sperm, qualified to create embryos.

You are still able to have children, so you should see a doctor soon to get advice on the appropriate treatment regimen.

MSc. Dr. Giang Huynh Nhu
Director of Reproductive Support Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City

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