By Francis Njenga

Time and tide, they say, waits for no man or woman. In this case, women are born with an intrinsic tendency towards procreation. Nature has programmed it that way. It even provides a stock of two million eggs at birth!

The older they grow, the greater the tendency towards motherhood. At puberty, their bodies are furiously setting up physical and psychological systems, which will attract and support pregnancy, child birth and baby care.

As pregnancy is postponed, women must contend with a process ticking away in the background of their bodies like a time bomb. By the age of 15, only 400, 000 of the original two million eggs remain; and the rate of ovarian egg depletion rises with increasing age!

Dr Joakim Ogindo, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital, says that a woman’s fertility rises steeply in mid teenage, reaches peaks in her 20s and begins to fall at 30. By mid-30s, fertility drops sharply, reaching insignificant levels as she approaches forty.

Out of the 30 mothers who delivered on February 19, at the Rift Valley Hospital this year, only three were above the age of 30. What is more, the eldest was 38 years old, and had never used any contraception since her last delivery in 2004!

“Certainly, the best time for a woman to have children is in her 20s or early 30s,” says Dr Ogindo. “This is not only because she has adequate stock of eggs, but also because the quality of these eggs drops with increasing age.

Though the desire to have children exists in their consciousness, many women are postponing pregnancy for a number of reasons. However, fertility cannot be delayed indefinitely. Soon, the desire to have children overwhelms; and it is very frustrating to realise that one cannot conceive.

TIPS TO STRETCH FERTILITY

• Avoid sexually transmitted infections: Besides causing tubal blockages, these infections and subsequent medication disrupts the endocrine system, accelerating the rate at which the eggs are depleted.

• Eat healthy: What is good for your arteries is good for your eggs. Women who gobble food with more unsaturated fats such as olive oil or avocadoes are less likely to experience infertility than those who consume junk.

• No smoking: A puff a day only makes your eggs go up in smoke. Besides poisoning the eggs, cigarette smoke contains hundreds of toxins, which narrows blood vessels, including those that supply the ovaries, denying them vital nutrition and oxygen.

• Avoid stress and be happy: Sorrow, anxiety and tears washes away thousands of eggs down the drain. Women can prolong their fertility by incorporating stress reducing activities into their lives such as moderate exercises, supportive family, friend or partner relationships; meditation, counselling, and even laughter!

• Go for-or-stay on the pill: Besides preventing pregnancy, oral contraceptives reduce risks of endometrial cancer, endometriosis or related fertility reducing illnesses. Women on the pill do not ovulate, hence lowered risk of ovarian cysts or ovarian cancer.

• Get routine check-up: Medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension, or even cervical cancer may remain undiagnosed and hence untreated; impacting seriously on a woman’s ovarian stock. If detected early, intervention can be initiated, effectively reducing the ovarian degeneration.

• Count your eggs: Besides one or two eggs released each month, thousands of others die off everyday with age. An intra-follicle count can determine the number of eggs remaining and help a woman in appropriate decision.

• Freeze your fertility: Though expensive and not widely available locally, cryopreservation or vitrification (freezing) of eggs is advisable especially where a woman is due for chemotherapy.