Women are empowered to make choices that align with their life aspirations and goals. One option that has helped in this endeavour is egg freezing, which gives them the freedom to choose when to opt for parenthood. This helps preserve their fertility and also pauses the biological clock. If it is to pursue their education or career or to wait for that ideal person, then egg freezing is the best solution. Here, you will learn what egg freezing is and what its benefits are for women.
What is egg freezing? Women in the modern age have more options educationally, socially, and professionally now than before. So, it is not surprising that women spend more time in college, enhancing their careers, etc. The downside of this is that their biology does not support it. For women, fertility is at its peak in the early 20s, and that is when women are at the start of their careers and by the time they settle, it could be over 30 years of age. During this period, fertility reduces, and the chances of getting pregnant are about 15% less every month. Medical advancements have come to the rescue of such women by offering egg freezing. It is a procedure that gives them the option to save their eggs and use them later.
Wondering how to freeze eggs in a woman? In this medical procedure, the eggs are retrieved from the ovaries, and these eggs are called oocytes. The retrieved eggs are then frozen at low temperatures to keep them fit and healthy for use. The best part is that these frozen eggs can be kept for extended periods and used when the woman is ready to have kids. The process of egg retrieval is started by giving fertility drugs to stimulate the ovaries to release many mature eggs instead of a single egg during the menstrual cycle. This stage of production lasts for about 10 to 12 days and needs monitoring using ultrasound and blood tests. After the eggs have matured fully, retrieval happens through transvaginal ultrasound aspiration, which is a minimally invasive procedure. In this procedure, the woman is put under anesthesia or sedation, using a thin needle is gently inserted into the ovaries, and the eggs are collected from a fluid. aspirated from the follicular fluid.
Once the eggs are retrieved, the cells undergo a process called cryopreservation, where they are cooled to ultra-low temperatures using liquid nitrogen. It is a meticulous and delicate procedure that makes sure the eggs retain their quality during storage. Freezing eggs gives women the chance to have more flexibility in motherhood and empowers them with options.
For women who want to preserve their fertility, oocyte cryopreservation or egg freezing provides many benefits. Some of them are listed below:
Reduces fertility anxiety: One of the major benefits of egg freezing is that women feel relaxed after the procedure. The biological clock does not often wait for a woman’s timeline, which leads to fertility anxiety in some women as fertility decreases with age. Also, they may not be in the best place to start a family now. Egg freezing provides peace of mind, and they don’t have to be critical of themselves for not marrying or conceiving earlier. Egg freezing reduces the pressure and a woman feels less anxious about the ticking biological clock. Due to less mental pressure, women can make better decisions as they are free from anxiety, which offers a better quality of life.
Gives time to find the ideal partner: Another amazing benefit of egg freezing is that it gives you a better dating life. As per studies, a majority of women choose to freeze their eggs as they have not found the best partner to raise their children. Egg freezing is a great option for single women, as it reduces fertility anxiety. With that, women can make the right decisions and settle with someone they are sure about. Egg freezing gives them a chance to focus on the present, learn more about the person and assess if they want to go ahead with the relationship. When the focus is not on the present but on fertility, there can be wrong decisions. Women who feel that their time is ticking should opt for oocyte cryopreservation, as they can focus on finding the right partner with no rush.
Protects and preserves the eggs: A major benefit of egg freezing is that it can protect eggs from diseases and preserve them during invasive medical treatments. Egg freezing was brought into practice to help women suffering from cancer, it helps preserve fertility as chemotherapy and cancer treatments put it at risk. For instance, radiation and chemotherapy treatments can destroy the eggs in the ovaries along with other cancerous cells. Also, if there are tumours on the ovaries or the fallopian tubes, surgery to remove them makes it difficult to conceive, as pelvic surgery can increase the risk of damage or scarring of the reproductive system.
Similarly, women suffering from endometriosis also find egg freezing advantageous.
Endometriosis develops scar tissues in the ovaries and the reproductive system and impedes fertility. It also creates inflammation in the reproductive system, reducing egg quality. Plus, the treatments to reduce endometriosis symptoms affect the ovaries and the ovarian reserve. So, undergoing egg freezing before treatment for cancer or endometriosis gives women the chance to start a family when their health improves.
When you are contemplating freezing eggs, it is essential to consider some key factors.
Empowers women to make decisions as their fertility is preserved and protected. It gives peace of mind as the woman is in control of parenthood and does not have to make decisions based on the biological clock.
There is no proof available that one is better than the other. The survival rates of freezing eggs or embryos are similar. But if there is a known partner, its always advised to freeze embryo.
There can be a loss of eggs during thawing as the eggs are fragile.
It is a medical procedure where the oocytes (woman’s eggs) are retrieved, frozen, and stored at low temperatures to preserve them and enhance the reproductive potential of women.
