5 Signs that Your Biological Clock is Ticking

Not all women can have children at their body’s optimum moment and more and more woman are leaving the decision to have a baby until they are into their thirties. Here are 5 signs that show your biological clock is ticking.

You’re feeling broody

You start staring into prams and looking wistfully at children whenever you see them. You start looking forward to seeing your friends that have babies and spend more time cooing over the infant, then talking to them.

You begin to look at baby clothes and shoes when you’re out shopping. You offer to babysit your brother’s kids and you start to imagine what having a baby will be like.

These are all sure signs that your body is telling you it’s time to make that decision and if you can start trying for a baby.

You’re over 30

Unfortunately no matter how fit, healthy and young we feel, fertility is effected by age. The best time to start a family is in your twenties because your eggs are healthy and abundant.

Once you reach your early thirties, egg production drops slightly and by your mid- thirties egg production decreases significantly. In your thirties you have a 20 percent chance of falling pregnant, but by the time you reach forty, it is only 5 percent.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t get pregnant, but it might take you a little bit longer than someone younger.

You’re periods are Irregular

If your period has started to become slightly less punctual, or you are missing the occasional period and it’s not due to pregnancy or illness, then you could be starting the perimenopause. This is the time before the actual menopause begins and is a good warning sign. It can last between two and ten years in some women and signals the decrease in egg production. Apart from missed or irregular periods, other signs can include:

• Hot Flushes
• Fatigue
• Lower Sex Drive
• Problems Sleeping
• Vaginal Dryness

You feel time is running out

You may begin to feel anxious about getting pregnant and feel like you’re running out of time. The more anxious and tense you become, it seems the harder it is to conceive. Try not to worry about your age, enjoy trying for a baby and take up an exercise regime like yoga, which will help to relax your body. Easier said than done, but it really will help to stop worrying about it.

Your mother had an early menopause

Sometimes mother and daughter follow similar paths when it comes to the menopause. If your mother had a menopause before the age of 50, it could mean that it will happen to you too. If you are now in your late thirties or early forties, don’t leave it much longer before trying for a baby.

What Can You Do?

Make an appointment with your gynaecologist and let him or her check you out. You can also have a blood test. The blood test will check your levels of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). Levels of the hormone will increase if a woman is in the menopause. A normal reading for a woman who is still having periods should be in the range of 4.7 to 21.5 ml/U/ml and after the menopause they will rise to between 25.8 to 134.8 ml/U/ml.

Enhance your Chances of Pregnancy

If you want to get pregnant then you should look after your well-being and do things like:

• Take some exercise
• Stop Smoking
• Cut down on your alcohol intake
• Get plenty of sleep
• Watch your weight
• Keep a ovulation calendar
• Have more sex

If you are feeling broody, talk it over with your partner and if you’re a woman on her own don’t panic, you can always look into sperm donation to create your family. You can bring up a child alone if you want to.