Fertility for the Over-40s

As a woman ages her chances of spontaneous pregnancy decline. Not only do her eggs become fewer in number but the quality of these eggs will have begun to deteriorate. This is why as many as one in three women in the UK undergoing fertility treatments are aged 38 or over.

Pursuing fertility treatment with a specialist clinic can help open the door to parenthood for women over 40 and at London Women’s Clinic our expert-led team have been doing exactly this for over 35 years.

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How can London Women’s Clinic help?

Industry leaders

We are a team made up of industry leaders offering world-class, tailorable treatments.

Bespoke programme

We offer a bespoke programme that combines established techniques to optimise the chances of obtaining good quality embryos and achieving a pregnancy, even when the odds are against it.

Excellent success rates

We’ve helped thousands of women over 40 achieve their family goals. View our success rates.

Treatment options

Each fertility journey is unique, personal, and deserving of quality care. In recognition of this, our world class experts have developed a fertility programme encompassing a range of effective techniques and one-on-one support, to women in their forties.

Embryo Screening

PGT-A

The primary impact of aging on egg quality is through an increase in chromosomal imbalances. Genetic testing of embryos enables the identification of those most likely to lead to a successful pregnancy, while reducing the chance of a pregnancy being affected by genetic abnormalities that increase in likelihood later in life.

Anueploidy

Anueploidy is what we call an abnormal number of chromosomes embryos. This can occur following both IVF and spontaneous conception and is more likely to impact a woman in her later thirties and early forties. Through Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy (PGT-A also known as PGS) we can assess all chromosomes and identify embryos with a none or the fewest risk of chromosome abnormalities for embryo transfer.

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Implantation Clinic

Designed to benefit patients who have had failed treatment cycles with good quality embryos following IVF, ICSI, egg donation and IVF/ICSI with PGT-A, the clinic focuses on identifying and modifying treatable causes.

A range of tests

Our Implantation Clinic offer a range of tests to assess uterine receptivity. We’ll take a closer look at your endometrium and design a personalised treatment plan for you based on your results.

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Egg Donation

In some cases of age-related infertility, there can be a lack of good quality eggs available to provide a reasonable chance of conceiving. The good news is that in these circumstances, egg donation can still offer an effective route to pregnancy.

Easy access to donor eggs

Together with our sister clinic London Egg Bank, we provide access to donor eggs and facilitate excellent standards of treatment to best increase your chances of pregnancy. Whether it’s through altruistic, intra-partner or known egg donation we will be able to support and advise you through your journey.

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Fertility assessment

Struggling to conceive naturally is a common occurrence for women over the age of forty, but this does not mean having a child is impossible.

One of our expert consultants will be able to consider your individual needs and advise all approaches open and best suited to you.

Start your London Women’s Clinic journey by booking Fertility Assessment with us. This will include a pelvic ultrasound scan to check for polyps, fibroids and cysts and an Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) blood test which will help us understand your ovarian reserve and allow our fertility consultants to work with you to develop your treatment plan.

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‘I feel so grateful to my egg donor, London Egg Bank and London Women’s Clinic for making this possible. I hope by sharing my story that it might encourage other women to explore this path to parenthood’

SARAH'S STORY

Meet our Specialist Team

Our team includes dedicated clinical and counselling staff who offer personalised fertility, gynaecology, obstetrics and genetics treatments, led by industry experts you can trust.

Professor Nick Macklon

Medical Director

Professor Macklon is a world-renowned expert in reproductive medicine. He has held professorships at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, the University of Southampton and the University of Copenhagen. He is co-founder of the Complete Fertility Centre clinic in Southampton, and a member of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Human Reproduction.

Mimi Arian Schad

Director of Nursing and HFEA Person Responsible

Mimi has been with the LWC since 2005 and is the Director of Nursing and Person Responsible to the HFEA for the LWC Harley Street. Mimi completed her nursing qualifications at Guy’s Hospital and is qualified as an operating theatre and fertility nurse specialist. She is a member of the LWC's clinical governance team.

Dr Shailaja Nair

Clinical Director, London Egg Bank

Dr Nair has more than 20 years experience in fertility and assisted reproduction. She worked as Associate Professor in a large teaching hospital and at the Cromwell IVF programme before joining the LWC in 1993. Dr Nair has extensive experience in all aspects of assisted conception, with a special interest in the egg-sharing and gamete donation programmes.

Dr Michael Summers

Senior Consultant in Reproductive Medicine

A graduate of King’s College, Cambridge Mr Summers completed his medical training at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine followed by a Clinical Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He is certified by both the American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ACOG) as well as on the GMC Specialist Register as a Consultant in Reproductive Medicine. His special interests include IVF, embryo culture, embryo implantation and pre-implantation genetic diagnostics, areas of research in which he has published extensively.

Dr Mona Rahmati

Consultant Gynaecologist & IVF Specialist

Dr Rahmati graduated and completed her training in Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine in Rene Descartes - Paris V University. Before joining the team in 2015, she was a consultant in Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital and Bluets Hospital in Paris. Her special areas of interest are recurrent implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage.

Baharak Mohammadi

Consultant Genetic Counsellor

Bahar is a Medical Geneticist and Genetic Counsellor specialising in reproductive and pre- implantation genetics with 10 years of experience behind her. She is much admired for her kind and sympathetic assessment of patient's needs, and is a very integral part of London Women's Clinic and London Egg Bank.

Events

Why not join us at one of our upcoming events?
Either in our clinic or from the comfort of your home, find out more about our Fertility for the Over-40s.

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FAQs

Why does female fertility decline with age?

All women are born with a fixed store of eggs in the ovaries (ovarian reserve) which steadily decline each month through ovulation and natural loss. Eventually, this store of eggs simply runs out, and menopause signals the end of a woman’s fertile life.

Even in the years preceding menopause, menstrual cycles may become irregular and fertility much less predictable. The eggs released from the ovaries might not be as good as they once were, impacting the likelihood of successful and healthy pregnancies.

Does being over 40 mean I’m infertile?

Not all women over forty are infertile, and the chance of conception for many may still be quite good. Indeed, the number of women over forty having a baby has risen four-fold in the past thirty years – and in Britain births to women over thirty-five now represent one in five of all babies born.

Are the chances of Down's Syndrome higher for older women?

Studies in recent years have shown beyond doubt that the chromosome arrangements of many eggs (and the embryos which they form) are not perfectly correct, and that this problem increases as we get older. Normal embryos should contain 23 pairs of chromosomes - one from each parent - but some studies have shown that as many as 50% of all embryos derived from women of an advanced maternal age are chromosomally abnormal. This is why older women are at greater risk of miscarriage and of giving birth to babies with chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down's Syndrome.

Can IVF reduce chances of Down's Syndrome?

With advancing age, women in their late 30s and early 40s are at a significantly increased risk that their eggs will have more abnormalities. This leads to a correspondingly higher incidence of genetically unbalanced embryos following IVF.

Undergoing Embryo Screening (PGT-A) will help assess embryos pre-embryo transfer to lower chances of chromosomal abnormalities such as those that can cause Down 's Syndrome occurring.

Who would benefit from Embryo Screening (PGT-A)?

In particular women in their late thirties and early forties can benefit from embryo screening due to their increased chance of having embryos with chromosomal imbalance.

Women and couples who have suffered multiple miscarriages or failed IVF treatments may also find this treatment beneficial, as screening would optimise the chance that only embryos with normal numbers of balanced chromosomes are used for transfer.

When is egg donation recommended?

Egg donation is also a popular option for women in their 40s, particularly women over 42, as success rates for treatment with their own eggs tends to decline significantly after this age.

Although the baby will not be genetically related to the mother, egg donation can provide a woman with the opportunity to still carry and give birth to her baby, and research has shown that bonding is unaffected.