The scientist, the patient: Joyce Harper on infertility's lasting mark

The other side of the table: fertility scientist Joyce Harper on the trauma that stays

By age 37, according to the data, 90 percent of a woman’s eggs have already been lost. It is one of the most-repeated statistics in reproductive medicine, and one of the most consistently ignored. Denial around female age-related fertility decline remains widespread – fed, in part, by the visibility of celebrities having children in their late forties and fifties without ever mentioning the years of treatment, the egg donation, or the surrogacy that may have made it possible.

Joyce Harper has dedicated her career to closing this information gap. She is a Professor of Reproductive Science at University College London’s Institute for Women’s Health, co-founded the UK Fertility Education Initiative and the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration, and wrote Your Fertile Years: What You Need to Know to Make Informed Choices (2021). She also attended the launch of The Why Wait Agenda at the European Parliament, back in 2024. In March 2026, Harper published Your Joyful Years: Empowering Good Health and Happiness Beyond 50, gathering the experiences of 50 women navigating post-menopause and midlife.

Eleonora Voltolina, journalist and founder of The Why Wait Agenda, met with Joyce Harper in Paris during the ESHRE 2025 meeting to record a special episode of The Why Wait Agenda podcast. As the ESHRE 2026 annual meeting begins in London (5–8 July), we are sharing this episode and others recorded in Paris.

A trauma that stays

«Harper is not just a scientist; she has also been a patient. It took her seven years and IVF to have her first child at 39. Those years of what I experienced, they leave their mark on you», Harper says. «That trauma will stay». She recalls the word that kept returning to her during treatment: «I thought, I’m barren. My body is not going to make a baby». Even success, she says, does not erase it: «So, yes, I was successful, and I have three wonderful children, but those years... they leave their mark on you».

Why age 32

Harper points to a specific age as a turning point for reproductive planning. «For most women, the really important time is around our mid-30s; that’s when our fertility starts to decrease», she explains – not a cliff, but a gradual decline that accelerates sharply after 35. Since most people want two or three children, she says the latest point to start trying is around 31 or 32: «So we’ve got to start preparing well before age 32».

Egg freezing, without the sales pitch

When it comes to fertility preservation, Harper tries to present both sides. «If you haven’t got a willing partner... I think the opportunity to freeze your eggs is good», she says. However, the process is physically and emotionally tough, costly, and does not guarantee success. «If you try to freeze your eggs when you’re 45, I would say don’t. It’s really, really pointless», she adds. Even eggs frozen at 32 do not guarantee success, as there is still a real chance of failure.

Who to trust

When asked how to sort through the overwhelming amount of fertility information online, Harper is direct about who might have something to sell. She recommends turning to scientific societies like ESHRE, the ASRM, the British Fertility Society, and the HFEA. «They’re not selling anything», she says. «They have been populated by the views of experts, and I feel that these are the reliable ones to go to».

What should twenty-somethings know?

Harper strongly supports teaching reproductive health in schools and highlights an issue young people often overlook: sexually transmitted infections. Chlamydia, for example, can go unnoticed. «The trouble is that for women, this can block the fallopian tubes», she says. This can mean IVF is the only way to get pregnant, sometimes years after an unknown infection.

Her message to young women today is simple: feeling healthy at 35 is not the same as being fertile at 35. «We need to make sure that everyone is aware of female fertility decline», she says, «no matter how young you feel».