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Do you desire to have healthy eggs after 40 or find yourself thinking about enhancing egg quality? The wish to have healthy eggs after 40 can be particularly strong if you are getting pregnant after miscarriage or concerned about preventing chromosomal abnormalities and know that you don't want donor eggs
But even if having a baby does not feature is your plan for the future - as in my case - the idea of creating new eggs and having healthy eggs after 40 feels really good. In times ahead, I believe that having healthy eggs after 40 will be a normal experience for women, but that is not the case just yet - it seems. So what can you do in the meantime?
This audio and article below came about in response to an article I read by Ellie Kincaid, in which she explores how scientists have discovered why 'older' women are less likely to have healthy babies. The following is an extract from her prose, explaining the process of meiosis, or cell division, in more detail. I share it here because I think it can help us to enjoy healthy eggs after 40!
"At the beginning of meiosis, a cell that will become an egg has four copies of each of its chromosomes. During meiosis, that one cell will divide into four. The point of this complex process is for a mature egg to end up with exactly one copy of each chromosome. This genetic material will provide the mother's half of the child's DNA....
That one-copy-per-egg is very important, and it requires a very orderly, exact procedure. To make it happen, the chromosomes line up and separate evenly as the cell divides itself a couple times..... But that's not always what happens.
When researchers examined the maturing egg cells of older mice, they saw (that) ... chromosomes are more likely to separate and step out of line before they should. This means that instead of the mature egg ending up with one copy of a chromosome, it might have two, or none". Ellie Kinsaid, Business Insider
Curious about whether the same happens in humans, these researchers took a sample of eggs - from women over 35 years - and found the same pattern occurring.
Because of the small numbers involved, this cannot be considered conclusive. However, there is value in it nonetheless - in my view at least 🙂 . Because I can hear feminine wisdom whispering why healthy eggs after 40 are such a worry for women in the first place. Allow me to explain...
For me, this story of egg division in 'older' women is giving us clues as to what it is really like for the Creative Feminine™ in patriarchy. And a few phrases jump out at me in the description of meiosis with maturity. The first is that early separation occurs.
For me this mirrors the experience of women over 45 and 50 when we decide that we are going to be mothers. By daring to want a baby at a 'later' age, we separate from what patriarchy has told us is possible, appropriate, responsible and acceptable for us as women.
For me, the 'early' part of that 'early separation', is letting us know that wanting children at this point is a break-up with a very fundamental patriarchal perspective that believes that the Creative Feminine™ expires around 40. So tip 1 is to to be aware that this is the context in which seeking healthy eggs after 40 occurs. Because this will help you to buffer yourself, somewhat, as you navigate through your motherhood journey.
The word 'separation' comes up for me in another way too. The decision alone, of having a baby after 40, can be very isolating because it soon becomes clear who you feel you can really trust with this knowledge. And how many don't or won't approve. Really.
This often shows up with insensitive infertility comments - said to your face or behind your back. With the result that many women keep mum about their intentions.
So tip 2, when intending to enjoy healthy eggs after 40, is to view your choice to have a baby as you connecting to your feminine tribe as opposed to disconnecting (or separating) from what the crowd believes. Its a subtle shift but it really matters.
Because you can can experience your decision to become a mother as something that goes against the grain and is going to be lonely struggle. Or, you can decide that it represents an entering into a feminine embrace of kindred spirit - choosing motherhood consciously at this point.
The former feels like success is unlikely, because it defies current 'wisdom'. While the latter feels empowered, meaningful and secure.
How you feel - even about your decision to have a baby - has an impact. So choose an interpretation that feels connected with what you really want, and allow your healthy eggs after 40 to follow suit!"
The other phrase, I would like to hone in on is that the chromosomes 'step out of line'. For me, this echoes patriarchal judgement of the Creative Feminine™.
Because so many people believe that to want a baby at 50, for example, is just downright selfish. But judgement arises much earlier than that. Having a baby at 45 is seen by some as 'abnormal'.
Whether out loud or at a sub-vocal level, patriarchy lets us know we are "out of line" - which feeds into the self-doubt that often goes hand-in-hand with trying to get pregnant with your own eggs at this point. And, in my view, the amazing feminine body is revealing that reality here in this story of cell division.
So Tip 3 is to get into alignment with your feminine wisdom and this community of women Engaging the Feminine® in fertility after 40 and beyond! You can do that by commenting below and adding your unique feminine voice to this movement. I invite you to model to your cells your true alignment and connection to help them to show up in the best way for you and your baby now!
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