Not ready for pregnancy yet? Or wanting to postpone your motherhood for when you find the right guy? Egg freezing has opened up better ways of parenthood for thousands of women. Being an empowering decision, Dr Goral Gandhi, a senior embryologist, currently heading the team at Indo-Nippon IVF, tells us how exactly is egg freezing done, and if it is the right option for you.
1. What is egg freezing?
Dedicating its inception to the process of IVF, egg freezing or oocyte cryopreservation, is a process that helps women postpone pregnancy, be it for medical reasons or psychosomatic. In the procedure, eggs are thawed, fertilized, and transferred to the uterus as embryos facilitate pregnancy in the future.
2. What is the ideal number of eggs that can be frozen?
It has been scientifically proven that for healthy women who are under the age of 38, 8 preserved eggs have a chance of a successful conception, accounting to 50% or more. As the natural ageing process takes it due course, the quality of eggs wane. In some cases where the female is 40+, the chances of a successful conception are comparatively low as the ovarian reserve has less number of eggs. 20+ eggs are required for women aged 40-44, says Dr Goral Gandhi. For the best chance at conception, preserving fertility and freezing eggs “while they’re in their prime,” is recommended by the doctor.
3. How common is egg freezing?
Egg freezing is not quite common, but it is being increasingly favored and adopted, says Dr Goral Gandhi. She further expects that with the treatment being increasingly opted by not only ordinary women but celebrities as well, it will eventually become a more widespread option.
4. Are children born using frozen eggs healthy?
Oocyte preservation, for women who want to delay childbearing, has grown in popularity since it scrapped its “experimental” label. As it moves into the mainstream, women generally have questions around the health of frozen eggs. To this, Dr Goral Gandhi says, “The data we have is quite reassuring” about babies produced through egg freezing.
5. How to determine the quality of my eggs?
The Egg quality majorly depends on your age. As a woman ages, the quality of her eggs wanes, hence, decreasing the chances of a successful conception. There is no particular method to check the health of the egg, but chromosomal testing of embryos after thawing and fertilizing can determine if an embryo is chromosomally normal, which tells the fertility experts, a lot about the health of a woman’s eggs.
6. How will I know if egg freezing is a viable option for me?
If during your personal assessment, our fertility experts find out that the numbers of eggs produced are less and might deteriorate with age, they will suggest you to consider egg freezing. “If it’s something that you are considering,” Dr Goral Gandhi recommends, “it’s better to do it when you have a higher fertility potential.”
7. Is the procedure of egg freezing painful?
Hormonal injection, which is a major part of the egg freezing procedure, might be a little painful, depending upon your sensitivity. Needles used in medication are quite thin, and injected into the fatty tissue. Since the medication helps the ovaries in producing more eggs, you might feel bloated and a few cramps.
8. How long does the process take?
The timeline of egg freezing procedure differs from woman to woman. The process begins at the time of fertility assessment by the doctor. The whole process usually takes 2-3 weeks (15-20) days. Dr Goral Gandhi explains, “Some women freeze their eggs in continuations with the appointment, while others take time to plan the freezing process and come later.”
9. Is there any risk or side effect of egg freezing medications?
Fertility medications are normally free from any side effect. There might be some minor issues such as headaches, insomnia, bloating, mood swings, etc, for a short period of time. There are very rare chances of an allergic reaction due to egg freezing. Ovarian hyper-stimulation is a common problem in women facing irregular menstrual cycle (PCOS).
10. Do I need to prepare my body and change my living style for egg freezing process?
It is always good to have a healthy lifestyle. Dr Goral Gandhi strongly recommends quitting smoking as its ingredients (particularly nicotine and tar) are not good for maintaining the quality of your eggs.
