Freezing Eggs For The Future

With more and more women wanting to delay pregnancy for personal, career, or financial reasons, egg-freezing continues to grow in popularity. The practice of retrieving eggs to store for later use is a great way to preserve fertility and increase the chances of a successful pregnancy later in life. Understanding how to pursue fertility preservation can empower women to make an informed decision about future pregnancy plans.

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Waiting for children

Although many women prefer having children earlier in the reproductive years, many good reasons exist to delay pregnancy. For some individuals, not finding the right romantic partner can be a huge impetus for seeking egg-freezing. Other women may be focused on a career or trying to save enough money to live a comfortable life. Still, others may have health problems that make pregnancy difficult to consider at the current life stage. Whatever the reason, women have more options to have a family later in life.

What is social egg-freezing?

As a woman ages, fertility declines. This means that women who put off having a baby until later in life may experience trouble conceiving. To circumvent this issue, some patients choose social egg-freezing. With this procedure, the patient is given prescription medication to encourage the growth of multiple eggs in a single cycle. The fertility doctor then extracts the embryos and cryopreserves, or freezes, the specimen for use at a later date. Eggs can be stored for years until the patient is ready to fertilize the egg with sperm and transfer the embryo to the uterus.

Consider the pros

With any medical procedure, there are potential pros and cons to consider. The main advantage of this approach is that women can freeze fertility at the current age. This means that when a 40-year-old attempts to get pregnant with eggs frozen at age 30, the chances of conception are much higher. Eggs on ice can decrease the pressure to rush into the wrong romantic relationship or put a career on hold to have babies.

Any risks to egg-freezing?

The downsides of the procedure include taking hormone medication, which can cause side effects, to increase the number of eggs produced. In about 5% of cases, a woman may experience ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), but the risk can be lowered with a knowledgeable fertility provider and a customized treatment plan. The process can also be expensive, so financial planning is warranted. Lastly, there is a chance the frozen eggs will not result in a pregnancy. Put another way, a baby is not guaranteed even when fertility preservation is done right.

Frozen future

With frozen eggs stored for future use, individuals don’t need to rush into a pregnancy. Instead, women are empowered to start a family at the right time. Social egg-freezing is the best way to stop the clock and preserve fertility. Stored eggs today can lead to a happy, healthy baby in the future.