Successful careers are making women look for ways to extend their biological clock and postpone having babies. But as it is said that the more you delay it, higher are the risks associated with pregnancy. Egg freezing, or Oocyte Cryopreservation, is a technique that allows freezing of eggs thereby allowing women to preserve their fertility while delaying getting pregnant.
The process of freezing eggs is similar to the one adopted for In-vitro fertilisation or IVF, except for the fact that the eggs are not fertilised immediately. Instead the process involves freezing of the mature eggs on the collection day itself and storing them for use at a later date. These frozen eggs can be thawed to be combined with sperm in a laboratory and then implanted in the uterus at a desired date. But before you decide to explore this option, you need to be aware about the risks involved.
Why Consider Egg Freezing?
Egg freezing requires a woman to use fertility drugs to make her ovulate and produce multiple eggs for retrieval. She is also required to ensure that she sleeps well, exercises regularly, gets adequate nutrition and avoids party drugs or medicines that can interact with the fertility drugs being administered to her. The process involves three stages- stimulation, egg retrieval and finally freezing.
The best fertility doctors in Hyderabad advise women to choose this option only in special circumstances like:
- A special condition like autoimmune disease or sickle cell anaemia whose treatment can affect fertility in the future.
- Non-cancerous disorders such as endometriosis or removal of ovaries
- Treatments like chemotherapy or radiation for cancer and other ailments that can affect the ability to get pregnant in the future.
- Women with a family history of ovarian cancer or who test positive for the BRCA gene
- The desire to delay pregnancy to a later date for any reason.
Understanding the Risks Involved
The process of egg freezing is not without risks and it is better to be aware about and understand the risks involved before you take a decision.
- The process requires administration of fertility drugs to boost chances of ovulation. In certain cases, these synthetic follicle stimulating hormones can result in swelling and pain in the ovaries after ovulation. Some common symptoms include bloating, nausea, pain in the abdomen and diarrhoea.
- In some cases, the use of an aspirating needle for retrieval of eggs can lead to infections or bleeding due to damage to the bowel or bladder or a blood vessel.
- Delaying pregnancy for long can increase the miscarriage rates especially if the eggs were frozen a long time ago.
Before you decide to go for in-vitro fertilisation or egg freezing, you should check the IVF cost in India and assess the risks involved. You also need to check about the costs for each stage of IVF as also the cost of storing your frozen eggs. You also need to remember that the chances of becoming pregnant after implantation will depend on your age at the time of egg freezing. The process does not guarantee a pregnancy later. Egg freezing is generally recommended for younger women between the age of 21 and 42, it is best to consult the best fertility doctors in Hyderabad for the right guidance.