Fertility and premature menopause

While most people will experience menopause around the age of 51, when it happens earlier than this it is known as premature and early menopause. Premature menopause is diagnosed when menopause happens before the age of 40, and early menopause refers to menopause occurring before age 45. 1

Premature menopause is estimated to affect 1% of women under 40, and 0.1% of women under 30. In a few exceptional cases women may become menopausal in their 30s, or even younger. 1

If you are diagnosed with premature or early menopause, it might catch you unaware and completely unprepared. In this article, we will go over the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and the available options for fertility treatment. 

​​In most cases, menopause does not start suddenly with no warning, but follows a period of time where women experience menstrual and ovulation irregularities and disturbances and difficulty conceiving. When this happens before the age of 40, it is often referred to as Premature Ovarian Insufficiency or Premature Ovarian Failure.

Premature menopause, also known as premature ovarian insufficiency, and early menopause are terms used to describe different conditions where a woman’s ovaries stop producing regular hormone levels long before the usual time of menopause. While they share similarities, there are important distinctions between these conditions.

Early and premature menopause can be caused by different factors including genetic, autoimmune, environmental, and medical and surgical causes. Some common causes:

A GP or fertility specialist should be able to make a diagnosis of early and premature menopause based on your symptoms, family history, and blood tests to check your hormone levels. 4

While the chances of getting pregnant naturally after being diagnosed with premature or early menopause are lower, it is still possible to become pregnant through assisted reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Realistically, only women who still have some ovarian function, sporadic ovulation and that are in their early 40s or younger have some chances with IVF. Egg quality decreases as women age, which with reduced number of eggs can make conception over 40 very difficult even with IVF.

If you have premature menopause and cannot conceive naturally then donor eggs from a young and healthy donor can be a successful option. IVF with donor eggs is when a woman undergoes fertility treatment using eggs from another woman, known as an egg donor who donates those eggs altruistically to help women who can not conceive.

At Apricity we are proud of our 86% cumulative clinical pregnancy rate for three embryo transfer events from one cohort of donor eggs. Our egg donation services have enabled many families to have genetically-related children using donor eggs. Egg donors are screened thoroughly for medical conditions and are selected to match as closely as possible the women who receive their eggs. Donated eggs can then be used in a fresh or frozen embryo transfer in an IVF cycle.

Being diagnosed with premature or early menopause can feel life-changing, with difficult decisions to make, whether you are planning to start your family or not. Support exists, from hormone replacement therapy for symptom management to fertility treatment including egg donation that gives a higher chance of success.