It’s easy to find plenty of doom and gloom in the media regarding the odds of getting pregnant if you’re 35 or over. In fact, I’m now beginning to notice that the age is coming down to around 30. Is it just scare-mongering and hysteria? Certainly as far as the media goes, scare stories sell, so it’s not surprising that there’s a constant flow of stories about how difficult it is to get pregnant if you’re in your mid to late 30’s. And obviously the science supports the fact that the older you are, the more problematic getting pregnant might be.
However, I think it’s gone too far. What began as a reasonable and benevolent attempt by the medical community trying to encourage women to think about getting pregnant at a younger age, has been whipped into a frenzy of scare stories and panic by the media. Bad news sells and the worse the news, the better it sells.
There are plenty of success stories out there, so don’t let the media and statisticians make you downhearted. The more you absorb all that negativity, the more you are unconsciously programming your mind to create problems – problems that may not even exist.
I was doing a bit of research on this and discovered a story about AH from London. She had problems with her ovaries and her husband had problems with his sperm. They were told that the chance of them conceiving naturally was one-in-a-million. They had three cycles of IVF – all unsuccessful and expensive – and then AH was told she was under threat of redundancy. As you might imagine, her savings spent and her job on the line, she had to shift her focus from trying to conceive to staying in employment. Then she discovered that she was pregnant – she now has two children. AH is reported to have said, “Each time I’ve stopped thinking about it, I’ve got pregnant”.
So two lights of hope to this story:
* It is sometimes possible to buck the odds
* Sometimes not trying is more powerful than trying really hard
May I suggest that you consciously seek out good news stories about couples getting pregnant against all odds. It could help you feel more optimistic and positive.
Good luck on your baby making journey and if you’d like some support along the way, check out the Baby Making Mindset Club.