Modern techniques make the procedure of egg freezing more effective and simpler. It gives women a chance to prolong their fertility and take the pressure off the “biological clock.” Today, women in India have more options than ever academically, professionally, and socially. They prefer to wait longer to have children.
While women are most fertile in their early 20s, biology has not caught up to India’s modern life. Egg freezing allows your biology to match your lifestyle. If you consider freezing your eggs, continue reading to learn more about the most appropriate time to look into this option.
Preserving Fertility through Egg Freezing
Egg freezing is extracting your eggs and storing them to preserve your fertility potential. Your specialist may first analyze your ovarian reserve. That allows them to estimate the quality of eggs before an ovarian stimulation cycle. Blood and imaging tests are usually a part of this analysis.
Your specialist injects hormone medications to stimulate the ovaries. Following the analysis of eggs under a microscope, your doctor will extract mature eggs and freeze them. The freezing procedure known as vitrification involves rapidly cooling eggs using liquid nitrogen. After that, they are prepared for storing.
Planning Future Fertility
The best time to freeze your eggs is during your 20s and early 30s. Your eggs are frozen until you are ready to get pregnant. Some of your eggs might not survive the freezing procedure.
When you are ready to achieve pregnancy, an IVF specialist warms the eggs and analyses their viability. Eggs that survived freezing can be used for pregnancy. This process involves fertilizing the egg in a lab so that it is ready to transfer to your uterus.
The age when you freeze your eggs and the number of available eggs play an essential role in the chances of a successful live birth. Older maternal age while pregnancy increases the risk of complications. It includes preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. However, most older women have safe and healthy pregnancies.
When to consider Egg Freezing?
There can be several reasons to consider freezing your eggs. Also, speaking to a fertility specialist is the best way to determine the right time for you. Here are some common circumstances when it is beneficial to freeze your eggs:
- Delay childbearing for personal reasons
Whether you are pursuing a career or because of other personal reasons, egg freezing lets you delay childbearing. Most women choose to wait before having children to focus on different aspects of their lives.
- Premature ovarian failure
If you are at risk of losing your fertility due to health complications, you can choose to freeze your eggs for future pregnancy. POF occurs due to autoimmune diseases, genetic disorders, metabolic disorders, radiation, and chemotherapy.
- Medically necessary surgery that may damage your ovaries
You may have to undergo surgery involving removing ovaries or damage them. In such cases, you may choose to freeze your eggs before the procedure. If a medical condition puts you at risk of losing fertility, you should opt to freeze your eggs.
Risks in Egg Freezing
Egg freezing carries several risks, including:
- Conditions related to the use of fertility drugs
In some cases, the use of injectable fertility drugs to induce ovulation causes your ovaries to become swollen and painful. Symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
- Egg retrieval procedure complications
Using an aspirating needle to retrieve eggs causes bleeding, infection, damage to the bowel or bladder, or a blood vessel in a few women.
- Emotional risks
Egg freezing can provide hope for achieving pregnancy in the future, but there is no guarantee of success.
If you use your frozen eggs for pregnancy, the risk of miscarriage will be based on your age when your eggs were frozen. Older women may have higher miscarriage rates due to having older eggs.
Research to date has not shown an increase in the risk of congenital disabilities for babies born due to egg freezing. However, more research is needed on the safety of egg freezing.
Building a family is one of the greatest joys for every woman in India. We can help you do it your way and in your own time. So, freezing your eggs is a safe and effective way to secure future fertility and achieve a healthy pregnancy.