IVF Challenges for Older Women: Moosewala’s Baby Brother Highlights Miscarriage, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, and More

The use of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) by couples later in life has come to light due to the Narendra Modi administration’s decision to request information from the Punjab government about the birth of the late musician Sidhu Moosewala’s younger brother. In the wake of Moosewala’s mother, 58, giving birth to a son via IVF on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare requested a report from the Punjab government about the laws regulating newborns born via IVF technique.

The Artificial Reproductive Technique (ART) Regulation Act of 2021, however, establishes 50 and 55 years old as the maximum ages for men and women receiving ART therapy, respectively. The debate surrounding the idea of using IVF to have children later in life has brought attention to the process, as examinations into its performance on an older lady continue.

According to many experts who spoke with News18, an increasing number of women in older age groups are now establishing families because of changing lifestyles, delaying marriages, and putting off family planning choices.

But it’s crucial to recognize that older pregnancies have additional dangers, which may be difficult for both the mother and the unborn child.

IVF: What is it?

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a technical innovation that offers hope to infertile couples. This kind of assisted reproduction technology usually takes place in a lab environment and involves fertilization outside the body. In vitro fertilization (IVF) involves removing eggs from the woman’s ovaries and fertilizing them with sperm in a lab dish. In order to conceive, the fertilized embryos are then placed back into the woman’s uterus.

Experts state that couples who have tried less complex treatment alternatives and failed, or who have situations where these approaches are not practical—for example, because of severe sperm abnormalities or blocked fallopian tubes—are usually advised to pursue IVF.

Not All Older Women Are Eligible for IVF

IVF may help women get pregnant at any age, but as time passes, the amount and quality of eggs decrease, making conception more challenging. Although there isn’t a set age restriction for IVF, success rates start to decline significantly at age 40.

Experts have also noted that, even for younger women, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is an expensive, emotionally, and physically taxing process. As a result, managing becomes increasingly harder for older women, particularly if they are also dealing with other health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, or thyroid problems.

“Have we not given birth to children born to moms who are over 50? Indeed, we have. However, those are extremely carefully chosen situations, Renew Healthcare’s medical director and IVF expert, Dr. Rajeev Agarwal, said in his account of his experience.

In such a scenario, women must be very strong physically and emotionally, and they must not have any health issues. The mother may be in danger of losing her life, and the couple is aware of this, he said.

But they are the past now. IVF was not previously subject to any legislation or restrictions in India. However, there are now explicit regulations in place, and the rationale is simple: permitting unfettered IVF treatments for women over 50 may result in major difficulties that might endanger their lives.

Adverse Reactions in Late-stage Pregnancy

Although IVF helps older women conceive, success rates decline with age since there are fewer eggs available and there is a bigger chance of genetic problems, some specialists told News18. For example, Dr. Sulbha Arora, clinical director of Nova IVF Fertility in Mumbai, told News18 that although menopause in India typically occurs at age 46, rapid degradation in egg number and quality is seen about 13 years earlier, meaning most women experience it in their early to mid-30s.

She clarified that while a woman’s eggs naturally decrease in number and quality as she ages, older women may choose to undergo IVF using donated eggs.

According to Dr. Nymphaea Walecha, senior specialist in infertility medicine at Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh, “chromosome abnormalities and decreased ovarian reserve are two reasons why success rates decrease with age.”

A further drawback of utilizing IVF later in life is that as people age, the proportion of eggs with chromosomal abnormalities also rises.

Pregnant women who are older also run a larger chance of giving birth to children who have genetic abnormalities like Down syndrome. Reproductive success with donor eggs could be the only option left for some women whose own eggs have run entirely out, according to Arora.

In reality, since donor eggs are commonly given by younger women, sometimes in their 20s, the success percentages of becoming pregnant and delivering a healthy child are greater when utilizing them. Experts caution that if the woman is older when she becomes pregnant, there may still be a danger to the health of the unborn child.

According to Dr. Walecha of Fortis, a greater risk of pregnancy issues such as gestational diabetes, hypertension, preterm birth, and cesarean section delivery might result from IVF in later years, like in the case of the 58-year-old lady.

Furthermore, older eggs are more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities, which raises the baby’s chance of genetic diseases or miscarriage. Having in-depth conversations and receiving counseling are essential for handling these possible hazards, Walecha said.

Arora from Nova IVF expressed similar worries, stating that these kinds of pregnancies are fraught with issues such as “miscarriages, low birth weight or premature birth” and that raising the child demands a significant amount of physical and emotional labor from the parents.

Childbirth is not the end of the journey. Rather, it is the start of a parent’s lifetime commitment to making sure their child is safe.

“Having a healthy baby is only the beginning of the journey; it’s not the end.” Never forget that a kid also needs parents who are well and live long lives. Physical limitations may cause parents to struggle to raise their children as they age, according to Dr. Tara Fotedar, founder and director of Invitro Fertility in New Delhi.