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Worried about your egg quality? Wondering if it’s keeping you from getting or staying pregnant?
Egg quality does play a big role in successful conception. But while there are a variety of factors that impact egg quality, there’s no quantifiable method for assessing it.
We do know that egg quality and fertility generally decline as you age. Yet, there are still some factors you have control over that may help slow the rate of that decline.
So to learn more about egg quality and how you can boost your chances of conceiving, keep reading!
Takeaways
- Egg quality is the health of an egg based on its genetic makeup. A quality, or healthy, egg will have 23 chromosomes. A low-quality egg will have more than or less than 23 chromosomes.
- There’s no quantifiable method for determining egg quality. An egg is a single cell, so any testing done on it would compromise its viability.
- There are tests that can be done to give you a good idea of your egg quantity and ovarian reserve. Your ovarian reserve is basically an estimate of how many healthy eggs you have left.
- Three major signs of poor egg quality are recurrent miscarriages, unexplained infertility, and irregular periods.
- Other factors that increase your likelihood of poor egg quality are age, chronic inflammation, and exposure to toxins.
- Bad egg quality doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant. But there could be more challenges or the need for fertility treatments.
- There are some things you can do to slow the rate of your declining egg health. Some include eating well, getting enough sleep, taking CoQ10, and managing your weight.
What is egg quality? What does ‘good’ or ‘bad’ egg quality mean?
To better understand the signs of good egg quality versus poor egg quality, let’s go over what egg quality actually means.
The quality of a single egg depends on its genetic composition.
A healthy egg should have exactly 23 chromosomes. This is considered genetically “normal.”
If an egg has less than 23 chromosomes or more than 23 chromosomes, it’s considered to be of poor quality. This is called aneuploidy, and it makes an egg genetically abnormal and more prone to cell death or other adverse outcomes.
In fact, an abnormal number of chromosomes is the leading cause of congenital birth defects. And more than 50% of miscarriages and missed abortions are a result of aneuploidy.
That may sound alarming at first. But fortunately, the health of a single egg doesn’t determine your overall egg health.
So then what does it mean to have good or bad egg quality overall?
Someone with a healthy amount of chromosomally normal eggs has good egg quality.
Meanwhile, someone who is more likely to have genetically abnormal eggs is said to have poor egg quality.
When it comes to fertility though, egg quality isn’t the only important factor. Egg quantity and ovarian reserve play a big part too. Learn more about these next.
What’s the difference between egg quality, egg quantity, and ovarian reserve?
This can definitely get a little confusing!
Look at the table below to better understand the differences between egg quality, egg quantity, and ovarian reserve.
Fertility factor | What it means | How it’s determined |
Egg quality | The genetic makeup of an egg (i.e. if it’s chromosomally normal or abnormal) | No straightforward way to tell |
Egg quantity | How many eggs you have left in your ovaries | Estimated through various tests like: FSH, AMH, and AFC |
Ovarian reserve | The amount of healthy eggs a person has compared to others of a similar age | Based on comparison of egg quantity in relation to a certain reproductive age group |
As mentioned, egg quality simply refers to the genetic material of an egg. The number of chromosomes is what makes the egg “good quality” or “bad quality.” And with age, more and more eggs deteriorate in quality.
Now, egg quantity and ovarian reserve are a bit different. Females are born with a fixed amount of eggs in their ovaries.
Typically, they’ll have anywhere from 35,000 to 2.5 million ovarian follicles. (A follicle is the structure that houses a developing egg.)
So egg quantity refers to the amount of ovarian follicles you have stored at a given point in time. And this number naturally decreases as you age.
While there’s no way to pinpoint the exact number of eggs you have, there are several tests you can have done to give you a pretty good estimate.
These tests include:
- FSH – Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) can give helpful information about your egg health and menstrual health. Your FSH levels can be determined through a blood or urine test.
Know more: FSH Levels in Women: What’s Normal + Chart by Age - AMH – Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) helps regulate your follicle growth. An AMH blood test can give some insight into your egg quality and quantity.
Know more: Does Low AMH Reduce My Chances of Pregnancy? - AFC – Your antral follicle count (AFC) refers to the number of visible follicles in your ovaries. This can be determined by getting a transvaginal ultrasound.
Know more: A Closer Look At Follicular Scanning For Ovulation Tracking: Is It Worth All The Inconvenience?
Once you know your egg quantity, your age can be factored in to help estimate how many quality eggs you have remaining. This is called your ovarian reserve.
Determining your ovarian reserve isn’t an exact science, but it’s based on tons of research and fertility studies. Your ovarian reserve is essentially an estimate of how many healthy eggs you have in comparison to women in the same age group as you.
If you have less eggs than the average for your age group, you’re said to have a diminished ovarian reserve.
Know more: Boost Your Ovarian Reserve: How to Reduce High FSH Levels
With this bigger picture of ovarian reserve in mind now, let’s dive a little more deeply into how you can tell your egg quality.
How is egg quality measured?
Unlike with egg quantity, there are no tests that can be done to measure your egg quality on its own.
This is because in order to assess the quality of an egg, you would have to test the DNA of the ovum (aka the egg cell). And in the process of doing that, the egg (which is a single cell) would become damaged and no longer viable. Yikes!
There is one caveat to this though. If you are undergoing IVF, an embryologist will test the quality of the embryo during preimplantation genetic testing. And the quality of the embryo can indirectly tell you about the quality of the egg from which it originated.
For instance, a quality embryo will have resulted from a quality egg. And a non-viable embryo may be a sign of lower-quality eggs.
Wondering why it’s possible to test the DNA of an embryo and not an egg?
An egg is a singular cell, making it extremely fragile. In comparison, a fertilized egg that has made it 5 days post-fertilization (the blastocyst stage) has about 50 – 150 cells. This means the DNA can undergo testing with much less risk.
Maybe future scientists will come up with a way to safely test an egg’s quality someday.
But until then, there are some poor egg quality symptoms that you can look for to give you at least a little bit of a clue. More on what these signs are next!
Signs of bad egg quality
While there’s no way to quantitatively measure egg quality, there are some red flags of poor-quality eggs.
Some major factors that can indicate low-quality eggs include:
1. Recurrent miscarriages
If you have more than 2 miscarriages, you’re considered to have recurrent miscarriages. Even though miscarriages can be devastating at any stage of pregnancy, they are quite common.
In fact, more than a quarter of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. And out of pregnancies that are clinically recognized, 10% end in miscarriage.
This is why having only 1 or 2 miscarriages isn’t likely to indicate poor egg health overall. But once you have 3 or more, there may be a chance that poor-quality eggs are at least partly to blame. Fewer than 5% of women experience two miscarriages in a row.
Know more: Ovulation After Miscarriage: What Can You Expect?
2. Struggling to conceive
If you’ve been trying to get pregnant for a while with no luck, it’s possible that egg quality is part of the problem.
So when should you be concerned?
- If you’re less than 35 years old: trying for more than a year
- If you’re 35 years or older: trying for 6 months or more
Match one of the descriptions above? Consider seeing your healthcare provider or a fertility specialist.
They can run some diagnostic testing to get a better picture of your health and fertility to see if your egg quality is at risk.
Know more: Everything is Normal, Why Can’t I Get Pregnant?
3. Irregular periods
Here are some signs that you have an irregular period:
- A menstrual cycle that is shorter or longer than 21 – 35 days
- Going 3 or more months without a period
- Bleeding between periods
- Bleeding for more than 8 days or less than 2 days
- Extremely heavy bleeding (changing a pad, tampon, or menstrual cup every hour)
- Intense pain that interrupts your daily routine
Know more: Why Does My Period Date Change Every Month?
If you’re experiencing any of the scenarios above, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor.
Irregular periods can be a symptom of underlying conditions. Some of these include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), diminished ovarian reserve, or chronic anovulation.
While you can’t self-diagnose decreased ovarian reserve or PCOS, you can check to see if you are ovulating regularly.
Not sure how to tell if you’re ovulating?
Look for signs of ovulation, test with an ovulation predictor kit (OPK), or use Inito’s fertility monitor.
Inito tracks and confirms ovulation by monitoring 4 key fertility hormones – LH, estrogen, PdG (urine metabolite of progesterone), and FSH on a single test strip. FSH, estrogen, and LH help identify your fertile window and a steady and consistent rise in PdG confirms ovulation.
Know more: What is Ovulation? Your One-Stop Guide to Understanding Ovulation
Repeat miscarriages, unexplained infertility, and irregular periods aren’t the only factors to consider. In the next section, you’ll learn about a few more egg quality risk factors you should know about.
Other risk factors for poor egg quality
Age
Age is considered to be one of the best indicators of egg quality. In general, younger eggs are healthier eggs. This is because when an egg has been around longer, it has a higher chance of having chromosomal abnormalities.
One example of this is with trisomies (conditions resulting from an extra chromosome). In pregnancies among women in their mid-twenties, only 2 – 3% have an extra chromosome. But in women over 40, the rate of trisomy jumps to almost 35%.
Know more: What Are My Chances of Getting Pregnant by Age? Check Out Our Chart
IVF live birth rates are another example of the effects of age on egg and embryo quality. A study following over 150,000 in vitro fertilization patients tracked live birth rates of women using their own eggs.
Here’s what their results showed:
Age | Live birth rate by cycle | Cumulative live birth rate across cycles |
Less than 40 | 1st cycle: 32.3% Through the 4th cycle: above 20% | For 6 total cycles: 68.4% |
40 – 42 | 1st cycle: 12.3% | For 6 total cycles: 31.5% |
Over 42 | Less than 4% each cycle | N/A |
What this study also found was that when donor eggs were used, IVF outcomes greatly increased. This was true across all age groups.
Chronic inflammation
Inflammation has a harmful effect on your overall health. But it can also wreak havoc on your fertility.
Researchers haven’t been able to figure out the exact connection, but chronic inflammation can lead to:
- Disruptions to your menstrual cycle
- Implantation failure
- Repeat miscarriages
- Disrupted ovulation or anovulation
You may have chronic inflammation if you have certain conditions like PCOS, endometriosis, or an autoimmune disease. It’s also present in those who suffer from diabetes, obesity, or infections.
Lifestyle factors can contribute to prolonged inflammation as well. Some of these include poor nutrition, inadequate sleep, high stress levels, and drug and alcohol consumption.
Know more: Diet & Fertility: Eat Your Way to Better Baby Odds!
Exposure to toxins
Certain substances and chemicals can lead to a higher risk of poor egg quality. Two major toxins to steer clear of are mutagens and BPAs.
Mutagens are substances that have the ability to tap into your DNA and cause genetic mutations. This can lead to disease and infertility. Some examples of mutagens are chemo, radiation therapy, certain antibiotics, alcohol, and cigarette smoke.
BPA (aka Bisphenol A) is a chemical found in many products made from plastics and resins. In animals, BPAs impact egg health by damaging an egg’s DNA, increasing oxidative stress, and disrupting oocyte maturation.
Human studies have found that blood levels of BPA are higher in infertile women than in fertile women.
While some of these risk factors may not be within your control, don’t lose hope! There are still some ways you can take action to give yourself the best possible chance of conceiving.
What can you do if you have bad egg quality?
Thankfully, there are lifestyle changes you can make to avoid speeding up the process of declining egg health.
Try:
- Eating a well-balanced diet that includes essential omega-3 fatty acids
- Getting regular exercise (which translates to about 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily)
- Maintaining a healthy weight and BMI
- Getting adequate sleep on a consistent basis
- Keeping your body well-hydrated (especially with good ol’ H2O)
- Maintaining healthy blood cholesterol levels
- Taking CoQ10 (under the guidance of your healthcare provider)
- Limiting your exposure to toxins and harmful chemicals (like BPA)
- Reducing or eliminating consumption of tobacco products, alcohol, and excessive caffeine
Know more: How to Improve Egg Quality? Is it Really Possible?
Remember that your egg quality declines over time regardless of your overall health. So aside from the lifestyle changes above, you might also consider freezing your eggs or using donor eggs.
The bottom line is this: do what you can to control the factors that you can. And try your best not to stress too much over conditions that are outside your control.
Also keep in mind that with advanced fertility technology nowadays, bad-quality eggs don’t necessarily mean an end to your fertility journey. Instead, it’s more like a roadblock you can overcome. You can do this.
FAQs
Your egg quality naturally declines as you get older. This means that “improving” egg quality has more to do with slowing down the declining health of your eggs.
That said, any lifestyle changes you make to positively influence egg quality will likely take several months to take effect.
Poor egg health is one possible reason for slow-growing follicles. But there are quite a few other factors that can lead to slow follicle growth. A fertility specialist should be able to help you pinpoint the major culprit in your particular case.
Not always. Late ovulation means you’re ovulating after the 21st day of your cycle. While it doesn’t directly correlate with poor egg quality, it may pose other fertility challenges. For example, it shortens your luteal phase and makes it more difficult for a fertilized egg to successfully implant.
Know more: How To Know If You Are Ovulating Late?
The biggest factor affecting egg quality is age. Over time, your egg quality will naturally decrease. Aside from age, lifestyle factors, exposure to toxins, and certain health conditions can influence egg quality too.
An antral follicle count (AFC) can tell you how many follicles your ovary has stored. This test is done via a transvaginal ultrasound. But an FSH test and an AMH blood test can also give you an idea of your overall egg quantity and ovarian reserve.
If you experience repeat miscarriages, have irregular periods, or have been struggling to conceive, you may have low egg quality.
Consider making some lifestyle changes. This can mean a healthier diet, better sleep, improved stress levels, and avoiding toxins when possible.
Lots of factors can affect egg quality for younger women. A few include genetics, conditions like endometriosis and PCOS, diet, and exposure to certain chemicals.
Yes, you can still have a successful pregnancy in spite of poor egg health. It may take longer, but all it takes to get pregnant is one healthy egg.
Was this article helpful?
- Validation of Urinary Reproductive Hormone Measurements Using a Novel Smart Phone Connected Reader – Nature
- Menstruation and Menstrual Problems – NIH
- Embryology Week 1: Stat Pearls – NIH
- Effects of Maternal Age on Euploidy Rates – Science Direct
- A Novel Mathematical Model of True Ovarian Reserve Assessment – PubMed
- Miscarriage – NIH
- Repeated Miscarriages – ACOG
- The Impact of Bisphenol on Fertility – PubMed
- Anti-Inflammatory Diets in Fertility: An Evidence Review – PubMed
- Live-Birth Rate Associated With Repeat In Vitro Fertilization Treatment Cycles – JAMA
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