Parenting is more difficult than it appears; nonetheless, many choose to experience the joys of parenthood. In today's world, where many women are finally given the freedom to pursue their career goals, they often end up deferring this moment due to a lack of structural support from families and employers. The societal stigma of the ticking biological clock becomes one more thing to worry about. In this scenario, the longer women delay having a child, the more issues they might face during their pregnancy. Women have a limited amount of eggs, which naturally decrease as menopause approaches. However, times have changed owing to medical advances, which allows women to freeze their eggs for fertility preservation.
We spoke to Dr. Anu Sadashiv, Reproductive Medicine Specialist, Milann, KumaraPark, about egg freezing, its types, procedure and more. Here’s what Dr. Sadashiv had to say.
Egg Freezing: A New-Age Procedure
Egg freezing is also known as human oocyte cryopreservation, a technique for removing and safely preserving a woman's eggs. This enables women to conceive in the future, which might be difficult otherwise. When it comes to healthy children, frozen or fresh eggs offer the same results. Because of increased knowledge and breakthroughs in egg-freezing technology in recent years, it has become a therapy that many career-oriented women equate with promise. As a result, freezing an adequate number of eggs while the women are still young is a viable alternative to enhancing reproductive flexibility.
Also Read: 5 Indian Celebs Who Opted For Egg Freezing
Procedure of egg freezing
The egg freezing procedure is a multistep process that begins with a clinical evaluation and blood hormone testing. The clinician conducts a thorough medical history with an emphasis on fertility. Hormone injections are given to a woman to stimulate her ovaries into producing a large number of eggs. Serial ultrasound is used to monitor them. All procedures are performed under anaesthetic. Technically, extracting an egg is not the same as having blood collected for a test. It is just the needle that punctures the vaginal wall and enters the ovary to aspirate the fluid containing the egg. A single frozen egg has a 2-12% probability of resulting in a live delivery. Therefore, it is recommended that a dozen eggs be frozen to maximise success. However, a woman's age and the quality of her partner's sperm impact success.
Clinical Egg Freezing Vs. Social Egg Freezing
Women can freeze their eggs for social or clinical causes, which are referred to as ‘social egg freezing’ and ‘clinical egg freezing,’ respectively.
When we say social egg freezing, it means that a woman can freeze her eggs for non-medical reasons, such as job advancement, failure to locate the appropriate mate, and the fact that she is not emotionally or financially ready.
On the other hand, Clinical egg freezing is considered for women who are going through medical issues and diseases that require tonnes of medication for serious medical concerns, such as cancer, women with a low ovarian reserve, a family history of early menopause, and so on, which can undoubtedly harm both the baby and the mother.
Therefore, it is best to safeguard your egg as soon as possible. Freezing the eggs offers hope to women who want to enjoy their careers by being independent, as well as those who are receiving treatment for serious illnesses that may reduce fertility.
Experience the Joy of Parenthood
The medical field has evolved substantially in recent years. Even if the woman wants to focus on her profession and wait until a later stage to assure conception, different treatment alternatives, such as egg freezing, are accessible. Women, on the other hand, should be aware of the numerous difficulties related with fertility. As a consequence, always listen to the professional when they explain the treatment alternatives that may be chosen, taking the couple's condition and medical history into consideration.
Infertility is a medical issue that can have an emotional, physical, and financial impact on a relationship. There are several treatment alternatives available to assist people so that they can experience the joys of parenthood without jeopardising their fertility. Thus, reproductive clinics and their experienced teams will provide the finest assistance possible so that couples may plan a family, have a baby, and avoid fertility concerns throughout the process or treatment.
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