In case you want to or are planning to have a baby but are not sure when to get going with it. Then a research from the Netherlands might be helpful for you. A study published in 2015 by experts from the Erasmus University Medical Center reveals the ideal ages when you can start planning for a baby depending on how many children you want.
The experts from the study created a model that would allow couple who want to become parents to work out when they should start trying for a baby - with or without IVF treatment.
The experts of the study established a computer simulation model of fertility, updated with recent IVF success rates, to simulate 10,000 couples so that to assess the chances of having a one, two or three-child family, for different female ages at which the couple starts trying to conceive.
Model uses 3 levels of importance that couples could attach to having a certain family size: Level 1: Very important (equated with aiming for at least a 90 per cent success chance)Level 2: Important but not at all costs (equated with a 75 per cent success chance)Level 3: Good to have kids, but a life without them is also fine (equated with a 50 per cent success chance)
Here's a look at when the study says couples should start trying for kids, based on how many they would like to have and the level of importance...
One child
If a couple wants one child and wanting to get pregnant is not of high importance right now, you can wait until you are 41 to start trying naturally, which would give you a 50% chance of conceiving.
Couples who think baby is more important and want the best odds, study says starting age 37 for a 75% chance and 32 for a 90% chance of getting pregnant.
Couple who can opt for IVF treatment, you can wait until the woman is 42 for a 50% chance of having one child, 39 for a 75% chance and age 35 for the best chance.
Two children
If a couple wants two kids, study says couples will have a 90% chance of having two kids if they start trying at 27 (without IVF).
Study says starting age 34 for 75% and a 38 for a 50% chance of getting pregnant.
If opting for IVF, the couple would have 90% chance of having two kids if they start trying for it at the age 31, a 75 per cent chance aged 35 and a 50 per cent chance by the time you are 39.
Three children
If a couple wants three kids, the couple needs to start trying at 23 age for a 90 per cent chance of having three children naturally.
For a 75 per cent chance, you'd need to start age 31, while the odds are only at 50 per cent by the age of 35.
With IVF, the couples would have a 90% chance of having three kids f they start trying for it at the age 28, a 75% chance from 33 and a 50% chance when they are 36.