title: The effect of age on female fecundity.
abstract: To determine the relationship between age and female fecundity, 210 women were studied prospectively. The subjects had negative infertility evaluations and were receiving therapeutic donor insemination. Life-table analysis was performed on 751 donor insemination cycles. For comparison, patients were divided into five separate age groups and into two separate groups, ages 19-34 and 35-45. Monthly fecundity and cumulative conception rates were calculated for each group. A significant difference was found when all age groups were compared (P = .05) and when those at or above age 35 and those below age 35 were compared (P less than .05). Frozen semen was used in 92% of all cycles. The average monthly fecundity of all patients treated with frozen semen was 16%. This study confirms a progressive decline in fecundity with age in a completely evaluated group of women undergoing therapeutic donor insemination and demonstrates that frozen semen can yield acceptable fecundity provided sufficient numbers of motile sperm are used for each procedure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Stovall
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Toma
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Talbert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D007316:Insemination, Artificial, Heterologous; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies