Menopause and Pregnancy

Even though it may sound impossible, its entirely probable to get pregnant during menopause - although the chances of a woman getting pregnant are decidedly slimmer during middle age compared to during her 20s and 30s.

Egg production naturally decreases by 50-percent by the time most women reach the age of 40. The percentage continues to decline every year after. Yet, women are not completely infertile until menstruation has stopped for 12 months straight. In fact, almost 70-percent of women between the ages of 40- and 44-years old ovulate regularly during the perimenopause stage.

Pregnancy after the age of 35 becomes risky for both mother and baby, but most perimenopausal women are uninformed concerning the facts about possible pregnancy during this time. Some women see their periods becoming lighter and more irregular, so they neglect traditional birth control methods - such as the birth control pill and condoms, and opt instead for less reliable methods - including the ovulation method, the rhythm method and the symptom-thermal method - to prevent pregnancy. However, these methods are not reliable enough to prevent impregnation. In fact, about half of perimenopausal women between the ages of 40- and 49-years of age dont use any contraception, which results in more than 60-percent of unplanned pregnancies and abortions in women over 40.

There you have it - it is possible to become pregnant during menopause! So if you dont want to become pregnant, continue using a reliable birth control method. The most popular contraceptive for women over 40 is sterilization. This simple out-patient surgery is called Tubal Ligation, or getting your tubes tied. Its usually performed in a clinic, doctor's office or hospital, and it prevents eggs from traveling to your uterus. During surgery the patient is placed under general anesthetic, while the doctor cuts, burns, or blocks the fallopian tubes with rings, bands or clips to prevent eggs. Tubal Ligation is reported to be 99-percent effective as a form of birth control immediately after surgery, and the recovery period generally takes about a day.

One in five menopausal women will take another route, and ask their male partners to have a vasectomy, a permanent form of male birth control. During this procedure, the doctor cuts the vas deferens, the two muscular tubes that transport sperm from the testes, to prevent fertilization. A vasectomy is generally considered a form of day surgery, as this procedure is quickly performed in a doctors office and not in a hospital. It generally takes 24-hours for full recovery.

In addition, taking oral birth control pills is still one of the most effective methods of contraception for pre-menopausal and perimenopausal women alike.