Are you worried about the age factor and how it will affect your ability to have children? Whether you are not yet ready to have a kid right now or just considering the possibility of adding another one to your family in the near future, freezing your eggs is a viable and best suited option.
First, you need to understand what egg freezing is: the process of procuring eggs from a woman’s body and freezing them so that you can re-implant them later. If you’re looking into freezing your eggs and want to make sure that it is safe, make sure to consult your physician next to reading up on the matter online.
As with pretty much anything else, the opinions regarding egg freezing differ. Here are some pros and cons of freezing your eggs:
Pros
Technology has improved
Nowadays, egg freezing is a polished process that produces better results. In the past, it relied on a slow-freeze protocol that made crystals form in the eggs – this method of freezing reduced the quality of eggs significantly. However, nowadays vitrification is used, and it minimizes the risk of crystal formation.
You Don’t Have to Worry About Diminished Egg Quality
The quality of eggs reduces after age thirty in most women. After the age of 35, the risk of miscarriage and chromosomal abnormalities increases. However, you can freeze your eggs and not worry about their diminishing quality.
Preserving your eggs at a young age gives you time to sail around the world, land your dream job, and meet ‘the one’ before nose-diving into parenthood.
Fertility Treatments Have Less Stigma
Using modern medical technologies for conception is not considered taboo anymore. Nowadays, everyone is doing it and the stigma around it has lessened. Famous women such as Mariah Carey and Chrissy Teigen have undergone fertility treatments, making them less taboo.
Reduces Stress of Finding a Partner
If you are not ready to get married because you have not found ‘the one’, you should wait. The tricky thing about waiting is that your fertility reduces while you do it. However, egg freezing allows you the luxury of pursuing your dreams while waiting for the man of your dreams.
Cons
Pregnancy is not Guaranteed
Storing your eggs in a bank does not automatically mean that you will have a baby upon their withdrawal. As time goes by, your risk of developing health issues – such as fibroids, high blood pressure, diabetes, and endometriosis – that might affect your chances of getting pregnant.
Even if you are in perfect health, it is not a guarantee that your partner’s sperm will be in great form. This is another determining factor towards reaching your dream of having a child.
To reduce the risk of such potential barriers, you and your better half need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and have frequent medical checkups.
It is Expensive
The process of retrieving your eggs will cost anywhere from 13,000 to 15,000 dollars. Furthermore, storing your eggs will cost about 3,000 dollars per annum. The process of re-implanting the eggs when you are ready to be a mom will also cost an additional 3,500 dollars.
You Have to Use Anesthesia
The process of freezing your eggs usually consists of ovary stimulation using hormones, which causes several eggs to be produced. The doctor will retrieve your eggs through a quick procedure that involves mild anesthesia. After that, your eggs will be taken to the lab for freezing.
If you are one of those people who are afraid of going under, discuss other options with your doctor. Moreover, some people are allergic to the medicines that are commonly used for anesthesia.
Bottom Line
You and your partner need to consider your feelings and state of mind before going forward with your decision. Egg freezing is the right choice for many women but if you are not one of them, you have other options. Just to the research.