Scientists have now raised hopes of scores of women who discover that they cannot have children after trying to start a family really late. This comes after scientists achieved a major advance in understanding infertility.

Newcastle University researchers have uncovered the mechanism of ‘reproductive ageing’ which causes female fertility to reduce very fast after the age of 35.

This discovery has brought scientists one step closer in understanding why older women have great difficulty in conceiving and a higher risk of giving birth to an abnormal baby. This could also make them find a remedy.

The research is published along with two other papers in the journal Current Biology.

One of the  most important social developments of recent times is the trend of late motherhood but it has brought heartache as an increasing number of women find out that they have left it too late to have a baby.

Mary Herbert, reader in reproductive biology at the Institute of Ageing and Health said, “Reproductive fitness in women declines dramatically from the mid-30s onwards. Our findings point to cohesin being a major culprit in this.”