LAist recently interviewed Mariam Naqvi, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars-Sinai, about whether women experience a “fertility cliff”—a sudden drop in fertility—at age 35.
Naqvi told AirTalk host Julia Paskin that 35 was historically considered the age at which the risk of miscarriage from an amniocentesis—a procedure that tests for genetic anomalies—roughly equaled the risk of having a baby with Down syndrome, contributing to misconceptions about fertility at that age.
But while the chances of chromosomal abnormalities and pregnancy complications rise with age, “the absolute risk of whether there are fetal abnormalities or maternal complications actually is still pretty low, and so we see women in their late 30s, early 40s generally have really good outcomes,” Naqvi said.
She added that although there are general risks to having a baby after 35, such as preeclampsia—a sometimes-fatal blood pressure condition—doctors should consider each patient’s individual health when advising them or deciding whether further testing is needed.
“The way that we’re going to be treating and counseling, say, a 40-year-old that’s otherwise really healthy is going to be very different than the way that we may be counseling a 40-year-old who also has longstanding diabetes,” Naqvi told Paskin.
With advances in fertility treatments, experts said that freezing eggs at a younger age and using them later through in vitro fertilization can help parents have a healthy baby.
Naqvi told Paskin that some people may face financial obstacles in accessing these treatments. However, California is implementing a new law in 2026 requiring large employers with insurance plans to cover infertility care and fertility preservation.
Experts encourage anyone interested in fertility treatment to check with their employer about what services are covered.
Listen to the entire interview from LAist.
