You’ve heard of egg freezing. Several new startup clinics have begun to advertise these services including local fertility clinics.
You probably have heard scare tactics about why or if you should freeze your eggs. Particularly if you are not sure about having a child anytime soon. Do you think about egg freezing? Are all eggs you freeze going to be viable? Are you ripe for egg freezing? Don’t panic! We are here to help you answer some of these questions. But first things first; what exactly is egg freezing?
Well, egg freezing can be defined as an established proven intense medical procedure used to save women’s ability to conceive in the future. In other words, it is the preservation of a woman’s egg. Through egg freezing, women can postpone their pregnancy to a later date.
Research by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine has shown that the best time to freeze your eggs is between 20 and 30. Why? Because you still have a sturdy ovarian reserve. However, egg freezing is not recommended for those women who are over 38 years old. The following are some of the things that you need to know before considering egg freezing.
- Side Effects
It is common knowledge today that everyone who wants to undergo a medical procedure must first know the expected side effects. So the big question is, are there any side effects that accompany the egg freezing process? The truth is that different bodies react differently to the procedure. Some women may experience cramping and pain, as well as mood swings. These effects are typical and will diminish with time. If some eggs escaped the retrieval process, you might get pregnant if involved in unprotected sex.
Only less than 1% of the women experience ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, whereby the eggs respond too strongly to the medication. Women who get affected by this syndrome may experience bloating or weight gain. There are also fewer chances of complications during the egg retrieval procedure.
- Success Rates
Egg freezing is not a guarantee of you being fertile forever. In other words, it is not an insurance policy. It is not a surety that all eggs you freeze will remain viable. The number of eggs that will survive the warming process will also depend on your age. According to ASRM, today’s live birth rates are closer to 4-14% per egg.
Your success rate will also depend on how many eggs you freeze and even the age of freezing them.
- Cost
The process of egg freezing is expensive. Estimates are the entire freezing cycle for a single egg to be $15,000- $20,000. The cost may even go higher if you include the storage costs. Other fees, such as in-vitro fertilization costs, should be considered just in case you decide to pull those eggs out.
Since the entire procedure is costly navigating insurance may also be tricky. Therefore you can consider other financing options before undertaking the process.
- Egg Freezing Is An Intense Procedure
Before egg freezing, your ovarian reserve is first evaluated. You are then screened to find out if there are any infectious diseases in your system. An ultrasound may also be carried to check on your overall ovarian function. You will then take synthetic hormones that stimulate your ovaries to have a cohort of follicles. You will be administered with medicine to prevent you from ovulating before egg retrieval. You will then need a human chorionic gonadotropin to help your eggs mature. The recovery then happens with a transvaginal ultrasound aspiration. Your eggs can then be removed one-by-one. The eggs are then cooled through a process called vitrification, where eggs are flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. The study has shown that those eggs frozen in this process have a 91% survival rate.
Information Is Power
If you are considering egg freezing, be thorough in your search, ask questions and be patient.