Anne-Claire Coudray, emblematic figure of the TF1 news, embodies this generation of women who have prioritized their professional foundation. At 49, she shares her life with Nicolas Vix, a 59-year-old entrepreneur. Together, they have a daughter, Amalia, born in 2015 when the journalist was 38 years old. A choice of maturity that she fully assumes, explaining that she waited to be “strong enough to accept this change of existence“.
The biological reality: a capital of oocytes which is silently exhausted
If professional development is an adjustable variable, biology has a fixed timetable. Dr Samuel Salama, gynecologist-obstetrician and sexologist, recalls a physiological truth that is often hidden: women are born with a definitive stock of oocytes which decreases drastically even before puberty.
“At birth, the little girl has 1 million follicles, and only 400,000 at puberty. The woman has therefore already used up 80% of her stock without anything having happened. Of this remainder, only 500 ovulations will occur in a lifetime” he explains.
Beyond the quantity, it is the quality of the oocytes which declines, in particular because of the environment, tobacco consumption… Dr Salama specifies that the body adapts less well with age as well. “The risk of miscarriage, correlated with maternal age, increases from 10% at age 25 to 50% at age 40.
The “lack of commitment”, a societal obstacle
So why wait if the risks increase? Dr Salama points to a change in morals. If long studies and economic uncertainty slow down projects, he also notes a change in couple relationships and a certain male “lack of commitment”.
“Today, access to women’s bodies leads to a lack of engagement with men who tell stories without really committing.”
This situation pushes many women to find themselves at the age of 35 faced with a rather difficult equation: not having a child with the first person who comes along. While knowing that late pregnancies are “overall more at risk in all parameters” from hypertension to gestational diabetes, the doctor recalls.
Egg freezing: insurance, not a miracle
Faced with this incessant “ticking”, French law now authorizes egg cryopreservation for societal reasons. Dr Chloé Tran, gynecologist at the Maison de la Fertilité in Paris, specifies that this procedure is accessible between the ages of 29 and 37, but warns against false hopes.
“It’s not ‘one frozen oocyte = a baby’. For a chance of a live birth, international studies show that you need to have frozen between 12 and 15 oocytes. It’s a little extra chance, a little assurance, but it’s not a guarantee.”
In addition, she emphasizes anticipation. “In Paris, as elsewhere, the deadlines are extremely long, between 18 months and two years. You should ideally think about it before you turn 35.” After this age, “freezing eggs from elderly women is of much less interest.”
The procedure is covered by Social Security, however, a sum will have to be paid each year by the patient to the laboratory which will preserve the gametes.
IVF and stimulation, without drawing from the reserve
For those who take the plunge into medically assisted procreation (MAP), whether they are in a relationship or not, Dr Tran finally lifts the veil on a preconceived idea.
Hormonal stimulation does not deplete the ovarian reserve prematurely. “During in vitro fertilization, we do not take from the reserve of eggs. We just take those which, in any case, at the end of the cycle would have been destroyed” she assures. “Hormonal stimulation simply allows all the follicles that are already out of storage to grow.
Finally, she concludes on the powerlessness of medicine in the face of time. “Unfortunately, there is no treatment available to improve the quantity or quality of oocytes. No supplements, no vitamins, no nothing.”
While medicine can support, it cannot reverse the biological clock. Between anticipation, information and freedom of choice, the key undoubtedly remains there: to decide with full knowledge of the facts, without giving in to pressure… or illusions.