Can we predict the biological clock?
by Una Purdie
A new genetic test may be able to predict when a women’s biological clock will stop, scientists have revealed.
The research from New York’s Centre for Human Reproduction found genetic markers could show whether a woman is at risk of an early menopause. This would allow women in their teens or early 20′s to decide whether to start a family at an earlier age, or even freeze their eggs if their fertility is likely to decline faster than average.
Speaking in the New Scientist, the project leader Dr Norbert Gleicher said he was confident he could “make a pretty good prediction” of whether a woman was at risk of early ovarian ageing, “then you can sit down and have a discussion about her reproductive life plan. In other words, do you want to have your kids before you get your PhD or afterwards?”
Gleicher believes he could have a test available by next year, although critics claim that while the research is promising, further work is required to determine whether long -term fertility can be predicted in this way.
The research comes as more and more women in Scotland are choosing to postpone motherhood until later in life. Official figures show almost half the new mothers in 2008 were in their thirties or forties. One in five babies were born to mothers aged 35 or over, compared to only 7% of births twenty years ago.
Local GP Dr Gul Dent is one of the current boom of late mothers. She just had her first child at the age of 39: “I was busy getting on with my life, then I panicked a little about starting a family. This is not uncommon amongst professional women.”
Dr Dent gave a cautious welcome to the new research: “Everyone must do what’s right for them, but fertility rates do tend to drop after the age of 35 so it’s good to at least be aware of the risks of putting off having a family.”
“If this test is reliable maybe it could help some women struggling with those tough choices between career and motherhood.”
great piece!