The truth is that modern living conditions, with the fast pace of work and constant financial uncertainty, have led many women to postpone childbearing. More and more women are starting to have a child after 35, after they have completed and realized their professional plans.

Which women are egg freezing for?

This method is most suitable for cases of women who want to preserve their fertility and have more chances to experience the role of mother in the future.

A woman can freeze her eggs during her reproductive years with the goal of increasing her chances of pregnancy later. Egg freezing is recommended to be done between the ages of 25 and 38, depending on the particularities of each woman. Nowadays the method has been perfected with huge success rates.

For what reasons to do it?

Women are born with a certain number of follicles (each cycle around 900 eggs are lost) in their ovaries. An egg matures every month and can be fertilized. As the years pass, the available eggs slowly decrease in number because the ovaries do not have the ability to produce new eggs (after 35, 10% of the reserve remains). Also, their quality decreases, because alterations are created in their genetic material with the passage of time.

Another reason is the risk of carrying a fetus with chromosomal abnormalities (Down’s syndrome) which in women aged 35 is 1:1200, while correspondingly at 45, 1:35. All this has led to the need to preserve the reproductive function of the woman so that it can be used when the woman is ready to give birth, regardless of her age and her fertility.

The most common social reasons for postponing motherhood are: completing or achieving some professional goals, as well as finding the right partner. It also concerns women, who already have a child and want to maintain their fertility for a longer period of time.

How is egg freezing done?

Initially, the eggs are collected after appropriate hormonal stimulation of the ovaries. Then the eggs are frozen at a very low temperature avoiding the formation of crystals inside them. When pregnancy is desired, the eggs are thawed and fertilized (by micro-fertilization) with the sperm of the spouse/partner/sperm donor. The embryos are cultured in the laboratory and transferred to the woman’s uterus.