3 reasons people are choosing to freeze their eggs

Women and people with ovaries are most fertile in their 20s and 30s, but not everyone is ready to have a baby at that stage in their lives. Whether you’re waiting for the right partner, want more time to further your career, or simply don’t feel ready to become a parent, there’s a whole range of reasons you might want to delay pregnancy.

Egg freezing can give fertility freedom and allow you to create your own timeline.

“Egg freezing does not guarantee a pregnancy,” says IVF Fertility Specialist, Dr Chandrika Parmar.

Here are some of the reasons you might choose to freeze your eggs:

‘Panic partnering’ is a term that describes entering into a less than ideal relationship, purely to avoid being panicked by your biological clock. Egg freezing allows you more time to find the right partner and avoid any regrets you may have by rushing into a relationship with the wrong person.

Egg freezing also allows you to become a solo parent, with the help of IVF. A 2016 report revealed nearly 50% of those who have frozen their eggs did so without a partner.¹

For people with a medical condition such as endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome, or those about to undergo treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or stem cell transplants, having a baby might be the furthest thing from their mind.

However, many of these treatments can damage the immature and growing follicles in the ovaries. Egg freezing before these treatments start can give a better chance of conceiving later down the track. It can also provide the opportunity to use a surrogate.

The juggle between career and parenthood can be hard. Millennials are the most highly educated generation, but also more in debt than any other generation, making it important for them to be able to work. After women have children, their earning potential drops to 20% less than their male counterparts throughout the course of their careers,² while delaying parenthood can result in an earnings increase of 9% a year.³

All these reasons may mean people choose to delay having a baby and look to egg freezing instead.

• Success rate: The number of eggs you have in your ovaries is a huge factor in the egg freezing success rate. “If this is low, it may be very difficult to retrieve 10 to 12 eggs per round of egg collection,” says Dr Parmar. “If this is the case, alternative options may need to be considered.”
• Cost: Egg freezing can be expensive. “Often more than one cycle is required to retrieve enough eggs for future use,” says Dr Parmar.
• General health: It’s important to consider your general health and any other medical issues when embarking on freezing your eggs or delaying conception.