What is this tool? It’s a timeline visualizer that uses clinical data to show you what a fertility timeline could look like based on your age and family goals.

How should I use this? That is completely up to you. The tool is not a predictor of your fertility (no such thing exists!) but you can use it as a baseline. You can bring it to your doctor, share with your partner, or keep it to yourself. Think of this as a visualization of the “mysterious” fertility advice floating around out there––it can help you put structure to this advice.

What are the inputs for the tool? There are thousands of clinical studies that break down time to conception and chances of abnormalities for women of different ages. Instead of wading through them or entering the internet black hole, we’ve built the data sets from these studies into this tool. We’ve also worked closely with Reproductive Endocrinologists and OB/GYNs who see the impact of these numbers IRL every day.

How do chromosomal abnormalities and Down Syndrome play a role? The ability to get pregnant, and carry that pregnancy to term without experiencing a miscarriage are two important components of a successful pregnancy. Older women (and men) have a higher risk of conceiving a child with a chromosomal abnormality or other birth defect. This is because older have more cellular ageing. Specifically, as a woman gets older, fertilized eggs have a harder time separating their chromosomes correctly during cell division (remember meiosis from high school? That’s what we’re talking about here). When a fertilized egg doesn’t separate correctly, this can lead to chromosomal disorders, such as Down Syndrome (or miscarriage). We’re born with all the eggs we’ll ever have and they tick down to zero by the time we hit menopause.