A group of Palisadian women gathered at the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 9 for a dialogue on 21st century fertility. Speaking that night was Dr. John Jain, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at Santa Monica Fertility, who is considered a pioneer in the field of reproductive medicine.
According to Jain, most women conceive with little trouble in their teens, twenties and thirties. By the time a woman reaches her 40th birthday, however, she has only 3 percent of her eggs remaining.
Egg quality may also decrease with age, said Jain, thus leading to a decline in fertility as a woman reaches her 40s and beyond.
These factors can be heartbreaking for some women who want to start a family later in life.
Jain is one of an increasing number of fertility experts who is working to help women beat the odds to conceive. Some of the methods used to boost fertility include artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, egg donation, tubal embryo transfer, surrogacy and egg or embryo freezing.
PPWC president Terri Lyman, the mother of triplets, was a patient of Jain’s a decade ago.
“I did conceive via IVF, and by the protocol of the time and my age, we implanted four embryos,” Lyman said. “Three, obviously, resulted in the very healthy triplets I have today.”
Although these procedures can come with a hefty price tag – egg freezing alone can cost $5,000 to $18,000 – they are options that some women who want to have a baby consider priceless.
For more information, visit SantaMonicaFertility.com or call (310) 907-7501.
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