Artificial
insemination can work in older women
By: Unknown Author
Reuters, August 5, 2002
- Although more likely to be successful in younger
women, artificial insemination is less pricey than other fertility
treatments and can work for some women over 40, according to researchers.
Their study found that a similar percentage of women
40 to 42 years old became pregnant and delivered babies after undergoing
intrauterine insemination (IUI), compared with women in their late 30s.
In IUI, a catheter is inserted through the cervix and
sperm is injected directly into the uterus, either alone or after a woman
has taken ovulation-stimulating drugs. Because the technique is believed
to be most successful in younger women, older women often forego IUI in
favor of more invasive and expensive assisted reproductive technology
procedures, such as vitro fertilization.
But according to the study of more than 1,000 women,
the likelihood of delivering a healthy baby remained fairly constant
between age 36 and 42. For instance, the live birth rate per insemination
for women aged 36 to 39 was 9.5%, compared with 8.5% for women 40 and
older.
For women at least 43 years old, the live birth rate
declined to about 4%, report researchers in the July issue of Fertility
and Sterility.
In comparison, the live birth rate was about 26.7%
per insemination for those under 25, 14.2% for women 25 to 29 and 12.5%
for those aged 30 to 35.
One reason for the drop in live birth rate was that
pregnancies in older women were more likely to end in miscarriage. The
pregnancy rate with and without ovarian stimulation remained fairly steady
between the ages of 30 and 40, ranging from about 20% per insemination in
women aged 30 to 35 and 18% in women 40 and older. However, the
miscarriage rate jumped from 36% in women in their early 30s to 53% in
those over 40, Dr. Jeffrey Haebe from the University of Ottawa in Canada
and colleagues found.
The study shows that while older age lowers the
likelihood of becoming pregnant and delivering a healthy baby, IUI remains
a viable option for some women over age 35, they conclude.
"It therefore is reasonable to include...IUI as
a possible fertility treatment for couples with a female age of less than
43 years," the researchers write.
However, the study results may not reflect success
rates for all women. The final tally did not include women who never
underwent IUI because they did not produce a mature egg, or had too many
eggs develop to undergo the procedure.
SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility 2002;78:29-33.
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