Experts have suggested that women should aim to have children before turning 35.

During British Science Festival in Newcastle, a panel of doctors said that a woman should aim to start her family before the age of 35, as fertility declines sharply after this point, the Scotsman reported.

Experts warned that many women wrongly believe that procedures such as IVF could prolong fertility, saying that there was no way of reversing declining fertility.

Mary Herbert, professor in reproductive biology at the University of Newcastle, advised all women to think about family planning in the context of not just preventing pregnancy but also in the context of having their babies at a time when they still have their reproductive fitness.

The experts said that women are born with a pool of one to two million eggs that shrinks until, at the menopause, the eggs effectively run out.

However, it was also noted that is not only the number but the quality of eggs that is reduced by the passing years.