Have Another ‘Fertilitini’

Fertility can vary dramatically among women. One 35-year-old woman might have a better "ovarian reserve" than another and get pregnant naturally with no problem. Population studies show, however, that on the whole, fertility does begin to decline when women reach their late 20s, and then drops off significantly by the late 30s. Eleven percent of childless married women between the ages of 15 and 29 are infertile, compared to 27 percent of women between 40 and 44, according to the CDC's National Survey of Family Growth. And while reproductive technology has helped hundreds of thousands of women become mothers, it is not magic. In a study of 6,000 women undergoing IVF, published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month, researchers found the treatment to be very successful overall. But the data showed a clear shift in efficacy as women aged. Over the course of six IVF cycles, 86 percent of women under the age of 35 ended up with a baby, compared to 42 percent of women over 40. "We can't take an infertile patient at 43 and give her the fertility of a 33-year-old," says Dr. Beth Malizia, the study's lead author. "We can't reverse the biological clock."

That's the message the AFA hopes to get out. Though women have become more educated about age and fertility, says Dr. Jamie Grifo, who will lead this week's salon event, "I still think there's a way to go." The goal of the program, says Grifo, program director at the New York University Fertility Center, is "not to be paternalistic or dictatorial, it's to be educational so people make decisions consciously rather than unconsciously." Grifo says young women may assume they'll be mothers one day, but often they haven't thought much about how to get there. "It's so easy to deny and not think about these things and then show up in my office at 44 and say, 'I've tried for two months, what's wrong?'" The focus isn't age alone. Grifo plans to talk about the negative effects of STDs, smoking and substance abuse. And he'll discuss the reality of egg freezing as an option for delaying motherhood, too. The procedure, which can cost $10,000 or more, is offered by some fertility clinics; more than 700 babies have been born worldwide from frozen eggs, says Grifo. But the treatment is still considered experimental by the ASRM.

Infertility awareness campaigns can backfire, and not all women are keen on the AFA's event. Lena Aburdene, 28, says "Manicures & Martinis" makes it look like doctors are "on a misson" to get women to have children. She wants to have at least three someday, but she won't make any decisions based on the shelf life of her eggs. "My first priority is to be financially secure and be with the right person before I have any kids," she says. Loretta Goodridge, 27, an MBA grad, says nobody—not her doctor, not the AFA—needs to remind her about her fertility or put pressure on her to have kids. Goodridge says 40 is too old to start having children; she hopes to have hers in her 30s. When women want information, she says, they should talk to their own physician.

Like other informational events, the AFA's program isn't purely altruistic. It was launched with $25,000 from drug maker Schering-Plough, which makes the fertility drug Follistim. Other sponsors include a New York-based pharmacy that provides fertility prescriptions and several fertility clinics. Doctors who lead the discussions are asked to make a donation to the AFA, and gift bags that will be given to attendees will contain handouts from the sponsors as well as educational information. Whelan is matter-of-fact about the AFA's need for financial support for their infertility prevention program, which is free to the women who attend. But, she insists, "We're trying to decrease the patient population, not increase it." When one potential speaker asked for a promise that his participation would get him patients, Whelan balked. "'I'm not willing to do that,'" she says she told him. "'My job is not to get you patients, my job is to educate women.'" It'll be up to the women to decide whether she's succeeded or not.

With Dina Fine Maron

© 2009