Many of the couples we work with who have infertility issues wish they had taken the steps to freeze their eggs when they were younger.
Egg freezing isn’t for everyone. For example, if a woman starts her family early in life, it wouldn’t make sense for her to freeze her eggs. However, egg freezing does offer several benefits to women who might wait to start a family for several different reasons.
1. It gives you the option to have children later in life.
Egg freezing gives women the ability to preserve the possibility of having children as they get older, wait to get married, or start a family. If a woman knows it’s going to be a while before she has children, but thinks she might want children in the future, the earlier she can freeze her eggs, the better.
The procedure gives a woman peace of mind that she will be able to have children later in life. Once her eggs are frozen, she can focus on other aspects of her life until she’s ready to have a baby. It’s a tremendous advantage that prevents women from having to deal with infertility issues once they do decide to start their family.
2. The eggs are healthier the younger you are.
As a woman ages, her fertility begins to decline significantly. The younger she decides to go through with the procedure, the more eggs we’ll be able to work with and the more likely we are to freeze eggs of high quality to increase her chance of pregnancy later on. Freezing eggs early on reduces the chance of miscarriages and other complications when a woman is older and ready for children.
Women actually reach their peak fertility at age 22, so the younger a woman is, the better the chances of freezing healthier eggs. However, several studies have shown that the ideal age for elective egg freezing for women is between 35 and 37. This is because fertility begins to decline when a woman is in her mid- to late-30s; yet freezing her eggs in her 20s isn’t always optimal since she can still easily start a family naturally within a few years.
3. It’s insurance in the event a serious medical issue arises.
Sometimes a woman is faced with a medical situation, like cancer or leukemia, and needs therapies and treatments that could render her sterile in the future. Although most modern treatments are successful and don’t end up affecting a woman’s fertility, freezing her eggs before she starts treatment gives her reassurance that she will definitely be able to have children after she’s healed and healthy.
Three Questions Every Woman Should Ask Herself
Before you elect to freeze your eggs, there are three questions your should ask yourself.
- Am I serious about having children in the future?
- Would I be willing to take steps to make sure that is going to be more likely rather than just hoping for the best?
- Am I willing to go through the financial investment and the small investment in time for the simple medical procedure to have that done?
Just because you elect to freeze your eggs, doesn’t necessarily mean we have to use those eggs to achieve a pregnancy. Even if you wait until later in life to get pregnant, there is still the chance that you can conceive and have a baby naturally. The frozen eggs are more of an insurance policy that ensures you do have the option to get pregnant whenever you choose to do so.
If you have specific questions regarding egg freezing or would like more information in deciding if it’s a treatment option you should consider, we’re here to help. Schedule an appointment for a consultation or procedure and contact the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility today by calling (520) 326-0001 or visiting us online.