ATLANTA, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. study released Friday said younger woman have an edge when it comes to using assisted reproductive technology to give birth using their own eggs.
The study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found women in their 20s and early 30s had the most success with pregnancies using reproductive technology to help. The success rate steadily declined, however, once a women reached her mid-30s.
"This is a reminder that age remains a primary factor with respect to pregnancy success and younger women have greater success than older women, even with technology," the CDC report said.
Still, even with the newest technology, the study found just 37 percent of fresh non-donor procedures started in 2002 among women younger than 35 resulted in live births. By the time a woman reached 38-40, the success rate dropped to 21 percent and it declined to just 4 percent if a woman was older than 42.
ART includes infertility treatment procedures in which both egg and sperm are handled in a laboratory. Most procedures involve in vitro fertilization.
