Egg freezing can help women have it all on their own terms

“Having it all” – the education, the career, the adventure, and the family – can and should be a part of every woman’s dream. Women who aspire to getting an education, starting a career and having a little adventure typically do this when they are younger, holding off on the family part until many of these milestones are achieved. And today with fertility technology, women who are not quite ready to become mothers can find the potential benefit of freezing their eggs, giving them the time to pursue these dreams.

Once upon a time…

Many fairy tales and dreams begin that way. “Once upon a time” a girl could only dream of getting an education, having a career, exploring opportunities, seeing the world, pursuing creativity. Career opportunities for most women were once basically limited to motherhood and child-rearing. Perhaps one of the most exciting changes over the past century and into the present is the evolution of women’s roles in society and the workplace.

However, those roles do not negate the basic desires to have children and raise a family. And this “career path” is still extremely desirable and valuable. Women today face a very real dilemma: how does one balance all of these needs and desires? When is the best time in one’s life to have babies? An individual woman’s natural fertility is at its peak during the same age intervals that, if women so choose, are necessarily spent obtaining that education, building that career, and exploring the world’s opportunities.

If only there was a way to preserve fertility for the future!

Sounds like another fairy tale wish. Well, there is a way to preserve fertility. Elective oocyte cryopreservation, or egg freezing, is a technique that has matured to the point that it is now available to women who want to dampen the din of that loudly ticking “biological clock”. This option allows women to choose when they want to build their family without sacrificing their chances due to advancing age. By having a means of “hedging their bets” or having a “back-up plan” in case they need it in the future, women who choose this option report feeling empowered making the life choices that are best for them.

Attitudes among women toward the idea of egg freezing have evolved over the past 10 years along with the technology. It is now viewed very positively. More and more women are making a proactive decision to freeze their eggs at a young age, when the odds of future success are best. And the marketplace is keeping pace with them: there are now several companies whose business is egg banking and making financing available.

Here at Fertility Answers, our lab has been employing cutting-edge technology to successfully cryopreserve embryos and oocytes for many years. The technique mirrors that of fertility therapy via in vitro fertilization. And while the chances of successful conception down the road, just like everything else in human biology, are not 100%, the value of women in society and the workplace is such that progressive employers vying for them are making coverage for fertility preservation and treatment available as a benefit option. No fairy tales here!

…and they all lived happily ever after

For more information about the benefits of egg freezing and how it works, contact us to talk with a Fertility Answers fertility specialist.