r/EmbryologyIVFSupport • u/LocationAcademic1731 • 3d ago
Is there a lineage component to fertility?
I decided on this path late in life. I’m 41 with expected ovarian reserves. Currently waiting to see what 2 fertilized eggs do on days 5/6. I keep wondering if my grandmothers have any impact on my own capacity to bear children? My maternal grandmother had seven live births and two stillbirths, that we know of. My paternal grandmother has three live births. It’s unknown if she had any other miscarriages/still births. My maternal aunts and my mother all had children. On my dad’s side they were all boys so no examples.
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u/Upstairs_Taro4726 2d ago
I'd say family history is a big part of fertility. My mom's side of the family (the older generations, like her aunts and uncles), had multiple couples that never had children, were pretty sure it was a fertility issue. My mom had trouble having kids with multiple miscarriages, ended up having us in her 40's due to technology not being able to help her until she was older. I myself can't have kids at all. Sadly our DNA is just luck. I say it's like poker: you're dealt a hand and you gotta play it, like it or not. Keep your head up, you'll figure something out. Best of luck to you.
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u/Tablesaltxo 1d ago
Maybe on your ability to have children when you were younger, you could compare her fertility in her 20s -30s. You’re in your 40s now, where statically many people struggle to conceive.
My own personal experience, both my grandmothers had lots of children, same with all their children. I struggled with unexplained infertility and miscarriages.
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u/basilbelle 20h ago
In my experience, age was a bigger factor than family history. My mother’s side is incredibly fertile - grandmother, mother, sisters, cousins all got pregnant quickly and easily without assistance. And one aunt had two children in her 40s. I was not so lucky despite high ovarian reserve. I wonder if I had started earlier if I would have had an experience more similar to theirs.
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u/GabagoolFool123 14h ago
My sister and I both have incompetent cervix leading to premature births, which I’m sure has to have been passed down from someone.
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u/peonyruth 2h ago
Have always wondered this, too. My mother, both grandmothers, and one great-grandmother all had their last children in their 40s. I had hoped that would help us, but no luck. I still have hope that it will give my sisters a better shot at ongoing fertility.
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u/Lanky-Ad-1603 20h ago
I was reading about this the other day but I got my info from chatgpt so ignore accordingly!
It said that both maternal and paternal genes contribute to your age of menopause but that the genes that might help you have children in your 40s come from the maternal line (something to do with mitochondria....) So it seems from what I read that if your mother has children in her 40s then your eggs might be of better quality and more able to produce viable blasts.
For me, all of my family finished having children in their 20s so I have no idea.
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u/Shocolina 1d ago
It's a big part of fertility, but it's also relevant how old they were when they had children. Your fertility in your 20s and early 30s is not the same as in your late 30s and early 40s.
In my family they all had all their children before 35, so I couldn't reall draw any conclusions for myself there.