Fertility expert explains why women 'need to start trying' earlier to boost chances of success

Following a warning from the HSE which explained that waiting until "later in life to have children is a risk for both men and women," Dr Mary Wingfield told The Pat Kenny Show it is not unusual in Ireland to have this issue.

The segment reveled last year the average age for a woman to have a child was 33.3 years old, this was three years older than it was in 2001.

HSE Clinical Lead for Fertility Treatment Dr Mary Wingfield said: "We know that all around the developed world people are having their children later. The studies show that the most important thing for women is that they haven't met somebody with whom they want to have a baby by the time they get into their mid-30s.

"I think it's really important to get the message across that this is not just about women, it's about men as well. Young women are becoming aware of the issue but I think young men are not as aware. We know that sterility starts going down at 40 for men and then significantly after 50. We know that miscarriage goes up as men get older as well, and the development of foetal anomalies and particularly mental disorders seem to be higher in children of older men."

@newstalkfm Have you had to delay having a child because of societal issues? Has the cost of childcare/housing factored into your decision? And what are the risks associated with having a baby later in life? Dr Mary Wingfield, joins The Pat Kenny Show to discuss the topic. #childcare #parenting #ireland #irelandtiktok #fertility #IVF ♬ original sound - Newstalk

On reasons people wait to have children, Dr Wingfield said: "A lot of children start later than they did when I was growing up and the age of getting school is getting pushed along. Then people want to go travelling and around half of Ireland is gone. All our young people are all travelling at the moment. Having children is getting pushed and pushed. Studies show that if you want to have a 90% chance of having three children you need to start trying when you're 28."

When speaking about different options when trying to have children, Dr Wingfield said freezing eggs is not what society makes it out to be. 

"Egg freezing is a great advantage but it doesn't solve everything. It doesn't stop the fact that your body is still getting older even though you've had eggs frozen since you were 35. The eggs are fine because they've been frozen but your body is ageing at the same time."

When speaking about the option of IVF, Dr Wingfield said over 400 people have been referred for state-funded IVF since it was introduced last year.

"We know that women are most fertile in their 20s and once they get into their 30s their fertility starts going down. As they get into their late 30s that starts going down even faster. Women are born with their eggs so a 38-year-old egg is just not as healthy as a 28-year-old egg. The egg itself isn't as fertile and even if it does lead to a pregnancy things are more likely to go wrong."