Fertility Docs Uncensored Today’s episode of Fertility Docs Uncensored is hosted by Dr. Carrie Bedient from the Fertility Center of Las Vegas, Dr. Susan Hudson from Texas Fertility Center, and Dr. Abby Eblen from Nashville Fertility Center. In this episode, titled Age and Lifestyle: How They Interact, the doctors tackle one of the most common and emotionally loaded questions in fertility care: does age matter more than lifestyle when it comes to getting pregnant?
The discussion starts with a clear answer—female age is the single most important predictor of fertility outcomes. While lifestyle choices absolutely matter, age plays the dominant role, especially as women move into their late 30s and early 40s. The doctors explain why maintaining a healthy body weight, avoiding alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana, eating a Mediterranean-style diet, and exercising regularly are all recommended when trying to conceive. But how much can lifestyle really offset age related fertility decline?
The episode also explores whether lifestyle changes have a bigger impact once pregnancy occurs. Why do heavier patients face higher risks of complications such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and stillbirth? And can weight loss before pregnancy reduce those risks?
The doctors then address what happens in the early to mid-40s, when age often overwhelms lifestyle efforts due to declining egg number and increasing genetic abnormalities. Why do women at 42 or 43 struggle to conceive even when they are otherwise healthy? What role do egg genetics play at that point?
Finally, the episode answers whether chromosomal abnormalities are driven more by age or lifestyle, and why age particularly over 35 has the greatest impact, while lifestyle has minimal influence on egg genetics. This podcast was sponsored by Fertility Centers of Illinois at Milwaukee.