What Women Need To Know Before Freezing Their Eggs
Ever thought of freezing your eggs? You're not alone. Freezing gives you freedom while allowing you to preserve your fertility. You can better focus on your career and priorities. Here's what women need to know before freezing their eggs.
Why Freeze Your Eggs?
You may not be ready for motherhood. You want to keep your options open for finding a partner or your professional career.
Egg freezing is a helpful option for career-oriented women. You can continue to focus on being successful in your career.
You can continue focusing on yourself and advance in your career. Freezing your eggs empowers you.
When Should You Freeze Your Eggs?
When it comes to freezing your eggs, your timing is everything. You want to do this when your eggs are at their healthiest.
Your eggs will be the most healthy in your early twenties and thirties. According to fertility experts, the healthier the eggs, the better the possibility of fertilization and subsequent pregnancy.
After age 35, the quality of your eggs starts to go down. If you decide to have children at an older age, newborns are most likely to have a variety of health issues.
How Effective Is Egg Freezing?
Set realistic expectations about freezing your eggs. While freezing your eggs allows you to preserve your fertility, it doesn't guarantee a baby in the future. Success depends on several factors, including the age at which you freeze your eggs and the number of eggs retrieved.
According to the Canadian Medical Journal, the success range for frozen eggs is from 2% to 12% per egg. If you freeze your eggs in your early 20s, you have a higher chance of success than freezing them when you are older.
What Happens After The Age Of 35?
According to the Mayo Clinic, you are:
More likely to have twins.
It will take longer to become pregnant.
Have a higher risk for gestational diabetes.
Increase your risk of developing high blood pressure during pregnancy.
An increased chance of your newborn having a low birth weight.
A higher risk of a premature birth.
Increased risk of complications with a C-section delivery.
A newborn is more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome.
Higher risk of having a stillborn or miscarriage.
After you reach the age of 35, your egg quality decreases. You increase the health risk to yourself and to your child.
What Should You Expect?
The egg freezing process might sound intimidating, but it's pretty straightforward. Here's a breakdown of the egg freezing process.
Consultation and Testing
Your fertility journey begins with an initial consultation with a reproductive specialist. An ovarian reserve test is done using a blood test and vaginal ultrasound to measure your egg count.
Ovarian Stimulation
To retrieve as many of your eggs as possible, you'll need to undergo ovarian stimulation. This involves taking daily hormone injections for about 10-14 days. These medications stimulate your ovaries. You can then produce multiple eggs instead of one egg per menstrual cycle.
Egg Retrieval
Once your eggs are mature, you'll undergo an egg retrieval procedure. This is done under sedation, so you won't feel anything. An ultrasound-guided needle is used by your doctor to extract the eggs from your ovaries. The egg retrieval procedure typically lasts 20-30 minutes.
Freezing
After your eggs are retrieved, they're frozen using vitrification. Vilification cools the eggs down to prevent ice crystals from forming. Your eggs are then stored in liquid nitrogen until you can use them.
While the process may sound intense, many women can successfully manage the egg freezing process. The hormone injections can cause mood swings, bloating, and mild discomfort. These side effects usually subside after the retrieval of the eggs.
Is Freezing Your Eggs Affordable?
Freezing your eggs is not cheap. You can save and start to budget for it.
The cost of one egg-freezing cycle can range from $6,000 to $20,000. The price you pay will depend on the clinic and where you live.
This cost typically includes ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, and initial freezing; however, storage after that costs $500 to $1,000 annually. Also, this estimation usually does not cover medication and can cost around $2,000 to $5,000.
Sometimes, you need more than one egg retrieval cycle to retrieve enough eggs. You will have to pay the initial cost mentioned above to retrieve your eggs.
Most fertility experts recommend freezing at least 15 to 20 eggs to maximize your chances of a future pregnancy. You may need more than one egg cycle to reach that threshold. That will especially be true if you're in your mid-30s or older.
Does Health Insurance Cover Egg Freezing?
Health insurance plans rarely provide coverage for freezing your eggs. Certain states require health insurance companies to offer health coverage for women who want to freeze their eggs. These states are:
West Virginia
Texas
Rhode Island
New York
Ohio
New Jersey
Montana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Ilinois
Louisiana
Hawaii
Deleware
Connecticut
California
Arkansas
Some employers might have fertility benefits, which can offset the cost. Check with your employer's insurance or your insurance carrier to see if egg freezing is covered under your health insurance.
Risks and Side Effects
Some risks come with freezing your eggs. While rare, complications can occur during egg retrieval, such as bleeding, infection, or damage to the ovaries. One of the more common side effects of ovarian stimulation is ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Your ovaries can become swollen and experience pain. You may also experience abdominal pain, nausea, and shortness of breath.
Emotional Considerations
Freezing your eggs is empowering. It can also be an emotional minefield. Freezing your eggs tends to dredge up profound emotions concerning your future, relationships, and biological clock. Seven women told The New York Times their stories of freezing their eggs with emotions ranging from hope to regret to uncertainty.
It's always great to have a support system. Surround yourself with your friends or family. You may even consider being with a therapist who can see you through the powerful emotions that might pop up, as the fertility treatments can be quite an emotional roller coaster.
Don't be afraid to reach out when you need someone.
Is Egg Freezing Right for You?
Freezing your eggs is a very personal decision. It allows you to preserve your fertility. Egg freezing provides you with more options. You can delay having children and settling down to focus on your career.
Enter the process of egg freezing with realistic expectations about the cost, success rates, and emotional impact on women. It is a great thing to know what options you have and to take control of your reproductive future.
Summary
The ability to freeze your eggs is a modern wonder of the twenty-first century. Freezing your eggs gives you more reproductive freedom. You are no longer held back by nature. You can utilize the advancements of modern science to freeze your eggs.
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Views expressed in this article are the author's opinions and views and do not reflect the views of Secure Single. It is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Secure Single does not give health, medical, relationship, travel, or financial advice. Secure Single does not provide advice of any kind. Always consult and speak with a professional.