Egg freezing is often a great option for women who want to delay starting a family. In fact, many research studies have shown the benefits of egg freezing, and how it can be a great option for getting pregnant later in life. Our article will cover everything you need to know about egg freezing in London – what is it exactly? How does it all work? Is egg freezing the right choice for you? And are there any drawbacks to this approach? Time to dive right in!
Egg freezing: The real medical advancement
Let’s start by getting an understanding of what egg freezing actually is. As the medical term suggests, egg freezing is when women freeze their eggs for fertilisation at a later date. This allows women to delay getting pregnant and potentially avoid some of the common fertility challenges that come with age – such poor egg quality, depleted ovarian reserve, and most of all, low chances of natural fertilisation.
In reality, egg freezing gives couples a chance to prioritise their professional and personal goals – which they may want to achieve by a certain age. Whether it’s travelling around the world, getting that corner office at work, or waiting for the right life partner, egg freezing acts as a safety net for your pregnancy journey.
The process of egg freezing
The egg freezing process itself is quite straightforward. The first step of the process is usually a consultation. It’s always best to meet with experienced fertility experts who work at a reputable fertility clinic. A fertility expert can carry out scans and other fertility tests to help you get a better understanding of your reproductive potential. Once the results are in, your medical expert can also put together a bespoke fertility treatment plan – so you can plan your pregnancy at a later date.
The next step is ovarian stimulation. At this stage of the process, you will be given hormonal injections to stimulate your ovaries and increase egg production. Your ovaries typically produce one egg per cycle. However, to increase the chances of a future natural conception, you’re going to need more eggs. The hormonal injections stimulate your ovaries to produce about 8-12 eggs per cycle. You’ll then take injections every day for at least 2 weeks to get your ovaries ready, and to help ensure your eggs mature. Then, you’ll have another round of injection(s), to ensure that you ovulate at the right time, and that you’re ready for the egg collection process.
The third step is monitoring. This ensures that your ovaries and other reproductive organs are responding positively to the hormonal injections. This step usually involves regular scans, blood tests, and adjustments to medication, all as part of the process.
After the monitoring stage has ended, it is then time for egg retrieval. This is carried out under sedation, usually 10-12 days after the injections. At this stage, once the eggs are mature enough for retrieval, you’ll get a final trigger injection. Once another 36 hours have passed, the eggs are then collected. Only the mature eggs are frozen.
The final step of the process is vitrification. The vitrification process simply refers to the flash freezing of retrieved eggs. Flash freezing is the latest medical advancement in this field, wherein the eggs are frozen within 5-10 minutes. The flash freezing minimises any cellular damage to the eggs, which often takes place due to slower freezing methods. Once frozen, these eggs are then stored, quite often in liquid nitrogen. What’s better is how with improving medical advancements, the UK government now allows eggs to be stored for up to 55 years. This is great for couples who want more flexibility over when to start a family.
Who should opt for egg freezing? Is it safe?
While learning more about the egg freezing process has hopefully answered any questions you have about the procedure, the most important question is – who should opt for egg freezing? The short answer to this question is that anyone who wants to extend their fertility window, can and should opt for egg freezing. This is particularly true for women who are waiting for the right partner, who have professional goals they want to achieve, who have a medical condition (such as cancer, PCOS, or endometriosis), or who are at risk of early menopause. Egg freezing is also a viable option for people who want to switch genders via hormone therapy or surgeries, but who also want to have biological children.
Also, the other important question is – is it safe? Yes. Most couples worry that egg freezing may not be a safe procedure, as it involves hormonal injections and other processes. The truth is that most medical procedures have some side effects. And the same is true for egg freezing. Egg freezing can cause fatigue, mood swings, vaginal discomfort, and nausea. But these side effects are transitory in nature and often pass after a few days. There have been some cases where ovaries have been over-stimulated by hormone injections, requiring bed rest or medical intervention, but these cases are rare. An experienced fertility specialist will know how to minimise the risk of overstimulation, and ensure you get the best possible care throughout your egg freezing procedure.
Is egg freezing the right option for you?
Only you know the answer to this question. While egg freezing has helped many women get pregnant in their later years, it’s still a very personal choice. And one that only you can make. You might be surprised to learn that men also have the option to extend their fertility. That’s right. Men can choose to freeze their sperm, prioritise other goals, and then start a family in their later years.
For couples wishing to undergo IVF, egg freezing is a great way to start the process, giving you more flexibility over your future, and the option to continue your IVF journey at a later date. In the end, it’s important to make informed choices about your fertility. If you’re thinking about freezing your eggs, then the best thing to do is to talk to a fertility expert about your reproductive potential, and then get a better understanding of how the egg freezing process works, from start to finish.
