With in vitro fertilization (IVF), the chances of pregnancy are greatly increased, says Dr. Ringler. In IVF, the woman's eggs are surgically removed from the ovaries, mixed with sperm outside the body and allowed to fertilize before the embryo is then transferred back into the uterus. "With IVF, if the woman is under age 40, the pregnancy rate is about 40 percent in the first attempt," Dr. Ringler says. In women over 40, the success rate is greatly dependent on age, he says.

For women 40 to 42, the success rate with IVF is about 15 percent, says Steven J. Ory, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist in Margate, Florida, and president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. But it's less than 5 percent for women over age 42.

Still, he says, proceeding with IVF is one of the biggest trends now, whatever a woman's age.