What makes chromosomes abnormal?
If more than half of infertility is down to abnormal chromosomes, then how can we prevent or correct the process from happening?
It is generally believed, and more recently disputed*, that a girl is born with all the eggs she will ever have, and that they are held in a suspended state until the 3 months before ovulation, hence the reason age has been thought to have such an impact on egg health.
“It would seem that during the several decades wait to being activated, prior to ovulation, there would be plenty of time and opportunity for accumulating chromosomal damage. This idea doesn’t hold up scientifically, as most chromosomal errors occur during the latter stage of the preconception phase when the egg comes out of its immature state to mature ready for ovulation. Closer to ovulation, the egg undergoes ‘meiosis’, and it is during this time that most chromosomal abnormalities occur”.*
Successful meiosis aids the repair of genetic defects and if meiosis goes awry then chromosomal mistakes are made.
During the premester, the 3-4 months proir to ovulation, the immature egg undergoes major transformations as it matures ready for ovulation.
It is during the premester or ‘fertility-optimising window’ that changes occur - the egg grows, in size and number of mitochondria. Mitochondria are the energy-producing structures inside nearly every cell, the powerhouses to fuel development of the egg prior to ovulation, ovulation, conception and the 6ish day journey down the fallopian tube to embed in the endometrium. One of the most energy-demanding activities is ensuring the correct amount of genetic materials are available for the embryo. It is no surprise that the female egg is the largest cell in the human body and the richest in mitochondria. Insufficient energy at any point of the reproductive process can result in failure.
It is during this period of growth, 90 days before ovulation, that the egg quality can be affected by both healthy and unhealthy influences.
Chromosomal errors in eggs are not beyond our control
The ‘Making Healthy Babies’ eCourse guides you through this window of opportunity, covering all that makes the difference, reducing the proportion of eggs with chromosomal defects and ensuring bountiful mitochondria to fuel all necessary tasks. So it is not about an accumulation of chromosomal damage over the preceding decades but what happens during the months leading up to ovulation when the egg is growing and undergoing chromosomal processing.
To be clear- it is not the aging of eggs in mature women that may lead to abnormal chromosomes, but that aging can create conditions that may predispose eggs to develop incorrectly before ovulation. Age still has an impact on eggs since the ovaries and body continue to age, causing the environment for the eggs to be less than ideal. Once again, there is an opportunity to optimise these conditions through the premester addressing detoxing body and environment, nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle changes.
Many women who are having trouble getting pregnant have been told by their doctors that their eggs are not healthy, or that their eggs are “old”. The options usually given to these women include using an egg donor, IVF, or adoption. Whatever your fertility journey, completing the premester preparation will enhance the prospects of a happy healthy baby.
conditions leading to an incorrect number of chromosomes in the egg that can be corrected-
Mitochondrial function and capacity
Oxidative stress
Toxins
Nutrition
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*Egg cells are some of the only cells in the body that do not regenerate, or at least that has been the belief up until now. Recent research has brought up some promising new views challenging such ideas regarding egg production – women may produce eggs throughout the reproductive years. A group of scientists led by Dr. Jonathan Tilly of Massachusetts General Hospital found stem cells within adult mice and human ovaries that produce new egg cells. (Nature Medicine, 2012).
*Rebecca Fett, It Starts With The Egg, 2019