Building a family involves a lot of thought and planning. A healthy pregnancy truly starts long before conception—with a healthy egg. Understanding and prioritizing egg quality is one of the earliest—and most important—steps you can take for your future baby’s health (and your own). Let’s bust five common myths to set the record straight.
Myth 1: Females are born with all the eggs they will ever have, and each of these eggs can survive.
Fact: Women are born with the maximum number of eggs, but this number continuously and irreversibly decreases as they age.
A female infant is born with approximately 1 to 2 million immature eggs, which decrease to about 300,000 by puberty. During the reproductive years, a woman typically releases only 400 to 500 mature eggs in her lifetime. This natural depletion makes age the biggest factor affecting your egg reserve.
Myth 2: Egg quantity is the primary indicator of female fertility.
Fact: While egg quantity is important, so is egg quality.
In the puzzle of fertility, egg quality is the missing piece for many couples trying to conceive. Egg quality refers to the inherent potential of an egg to be normally fertilized, develop into a healthy embryo, and result in a successful pregnancy. In most cases, healthy eggs can be fertilized, implant in the uterus, and continue to develop into a healthy baby. On the other hand, poor-quality eggs have a higher chance of genetic abnormalities, which means they have too many or too few chromosomes. These eggs usually do not result in pregnancy at all, but if they do, miscarriage or genetic disorders may occur. As women age, the number of genetically abnormal eggs starts to outnumber the healthy eggs, which makes it more challenging to conceive.
Myth 3: Your fertility hits a cliff at 35.
Fact: As women age, egg quality begins to decline, but many women can still successfully conceive after the age of 35.
Although women aged 35 and above are considered advanced maternal age, fertility doesn’t drop off a cliff at 35—it’s more like a gradual slope down a mountain.
Women typically reach the peak of their fertility in their 20s. However, once women reach 35, their fertility and egg quality do not drop sharply like a cliff, but rather decline gradually. This decline usually starts in the 30s, especially after 35, and becomes more pronounced after 40.
It is necessary to recognize that as one ages, the quality and quantity of eggs decline, which indeed makes natural conception more difficult. But advancements in fertility treatment technologies have brought hope to many older women who long to welcome a new life.
Myth 4: If I’m younger than 35, my eggs are totally fine.
Fact: Younger women can also have trouble with egg quality.
Many women choose to have children later in life for many reasons — financial stability, healthcare concerns, and career advancement all contributing. In fact, the average age of first-time mothers has increased from 21 to 26 years old in the United States. Even in your 20s or early 30s, factors like unhealthy lifestyle, pollution, genetics, or medical conditions can impact egg health. Therefore, regardless of age, if one has a fertility plan, it is wise to pay attention to reproductive health in advance and consult a doctor.
Myth 5: There is nothing I can do to help improve my egg quality.
Fact: Improving the egg quality is possible, and the key lies in creating a better environment for egg development.
Although it is impossible to reverse the effects brought about by age, through targeted nutritional intervention, it is possible to effectively support the health of eggs and inhibit the aging process. For example, Juvenex Reco18 is believed to help improve the egg quality. Its key ingredient, Reco18, is an important component of follicular fluid, which can help oocytes obtain more adequate nutrition, thereby increasing the number of eggs and improving egg quality. This research result has been published in the well-known SCI journal “Frontiers in Endocrinology” with an impact factor of 6.055.
Whether you are a young woman, whose dream of starting a family is still far away, or an older woman, who still desires to achieve the dream of starting a family, you should pay attention to your reproductive ability in advance and be prepared for it.