Apart from the chances for success with reversal surgery, the single most important factor determining your chances for achieving pregnancy is the women’s age. With increasing age, fertility drops significantly, and the rate of miscarriage also rises:
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Infertility treatment can’t fully compensate for the effect of age.
The above picture of age-related fertility decline is reflected in several studies of assisted reproductive technology. One study of healthy, fertile women undergoing artificial insemination with donor sperm indicates that the chance of getting pregnant in 12 cycles (or about a year) was 73% for women 30 and under, and dropped to 54% for women over 35.
National statistics for women undergoing in vitro fertilization using their own eggs demonstrate that the drop in IVF success is also dramatic: for women under 35, the percentage of successful IVF cycles was 41.5%; for women 35–37, it was 31.9%; for women 38–40, 22.1%; 12.4% for women 41–42; 5% for women 43–44; and just 1% for women over 44. That means that, after age 35, IVF birth rates declined about 10% every 2 years.
Note that some studies of assisted fertilization pregnancy rates suggest much higher pregnancy rates in older women. These studies typically use donor eggs from women in their 20’s, which introduces other issues, both personal and ethical.