What we should do about fertility preservation in older women

The number and supply of eggs in a woman is determined at the moment of birth. The egg-producing cells degenerate from birth to puberty, and the time span during which a mature egg can be produced is limited to the period between puberty and menopause. The reproductive system functions during the developmental period, with a reproductive life of about 20 years and almost no reproductive function at the age of 50 years. The loss of follicles from the ovaries accelerates during the pre-menopausal period, and there are dramatic changes in reproductive endocrinology, such as a decline in estrogen, a decline in FSH, and a decline in fertility. The first factor to consider when performing a female fertility assessment is age, which decreases with age. In addition, ovarian reserve function, tubal patency and function, and uterine fertility potential should be assessed, and the influence of systemic factors must be considered. There are a number of factors that influence female fertility, including genetics, ovarian decline, oxidative stress, inflammation, history of surgery, history of radiation and chemotherapy, and dietary nutrition, and premenopausal fertility interventions can be made based on the specific influencing factors with the aim of achieving improvement. Specific improvement measures include: 1. Treatment of primary diseases: The decline of women’s fertility is often accompanied by the occurrence of many primary diseases, such as pelvic inflammatory diseases, low ovarian reserve function, premature ovarian failure, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, as well as some metabolic diseases, endocrine diseases, etc., which will have different degrees of impact on women’s fertility, so in order to improve the women’s fertility, the first step is to identify the disease, and to improve the women’s fertility. Therefore, in order to improve women’s fertility, the first step is to find out the cause of the disease and carry out targeted treatment. 2. Reproductive hormone intervention: As women age, or due to ovariectomy, the ovaries will gradually fail to produce female hormones at the end of the day, and an imbalance in women’s hormone levels occurs, which can be intervened through hormone supplementation therapy. It is generally recognized by international and domestic menopause experts that hormone supplementation therapy can significantly improve almost all perimenopausal symptoms in women, and that the earlier treatment is started, the more effective the prevention and treatment will be. However, hormone supplementation therapy also involves certain risks. Individualized risk assessment of medication and regular review can minimize such risks. 3. Combined Chinese and Western medicine treatment, nutrition and dietary improvement. Chinese medicine has a history of more than 2000 years in treating infertility and menopausal symptoms, and a large number of clinical practices have proved that as long as Chinese medicine theories are applied to examine the evidence and seek the causes, and the dialectical treatment, Chinese medicine treatment does not have any obvious immediate and long-term side effects. In the actual clinical practice of our hospital, we have also found that acupuncture, massage, cupping, wax therapy and other auxiliary techniques of Chinese medicine have obvious curative effects on infertility and menopausal symptoms. In addition, nutritional therapy through meals and other nutritional therapies is also a holistic treatment method to improve health. 4. Eliminate the abuse of surgery, large quantities of estrogen and progesterone, large quantities of ovulation-promoting drugs, and psychological counseling. In addition, for some tumor patients, due to the risk of infertility after undergoing tumor-related treatments, fertility preservation can also be considered, including ovary transplantation, embryo freezing, freezing of immature or mature eggs, and freezing of ovarian tissue. In conclusion, the fertility of premenopausal women should be given a higher degree of attention, and clinicians should choose individualized treatment plans by taking into account the patient’s physiological, psychological, and environmental factors.