The world really is getting more progressive as women are now freezing their eggs. And no one has the right to give women crap about it.
Egg freezing, also known as mature oocyte cryopreservation, is a method used to save women’s ability to get pregnant in the future. Mayo Clinic says that eggs harvested from your ovaries are frozen unfertilized and stored for later use. A frozen egg can be thawed, combined with sperm in a lab and implanted in your uterus (in vitro fertilization).
This is an option for women who do not want to become pregnant now, but want to try to make sure that it is still possible in the future. Unlike with fertilized egg freezing (embryo cryopreservation), egg freezing doesn’t require sperm because the eggs aren’t fertilized before they’re frozen. Just as with embryo freezing, however, you’ll need to use fertility drugs to make you ovulate so that you’ll produce multiple eggs for retrieval.
There are various reasons why women opt for egg freezing. It could be because they don’t want to rush in finding a parter, getting married, and settling down with a family. It could also be their careers that are holding them back from such a huge and time-consuming responsibility, or it could be financial reasons where women just want to build a life that is more than enough for her future child.
The TV personality and news anchor Gretchen Fullido happily announced on Instagram that she had frozen her eggs. “Been praying about this for a few years now and my dream finally came true,” wrote the TV host, who recently turned 35. “It’s the best birthday gift I can ever give to myself.”
Gretchen further shared, the decision to harvest her eggs made her feel more in control of her own life. “I wish to have a baby in my own time, in God’s perfect time,” she said. The TV host ended her post with a piece of advice: “If you been thinking about it, Go Freeze it! I can honestly say that it’s the best decision of my life!”
More and more women, whether single or married, are indeed choosing the route of egg freezing to prolong choices without worrying about their ages and biological clocks.
Earlier in the year, award-winning actress Iza Calzado also revealed in an interview with talk show host Karen Davila that motherhood may come to her through surrogacy in the future. She has, however, discussed with her husband Ben Wintle that she will go through at least one pregnancy.
“I do want to experience the process once, at least. I said I will commit to one baby and let’s take it from there,” Iza shared. “However, I am preparing that one day I may take that option for surrogacy. I’ve never talked about this, but I have frozen [my eggs],” she revealed.
According to Smart Parenting, she also admitted that one of the reasons why she decided to have her eggs frozen is that she felt like she wanted children but was not ready for parenthood yet.
Extend Fertility says that one of the benefits of egg freezing we hear most from patients is the sense of relief or relaxation they feel afterward. Because our biology doesn’t exactly follow our preferred timeline, some women feel “fertility anxiety”—the feeling that their fertility is declining, but they’re not in the right place to have a baby right now.
But women must also be wary and cautious of some risks that go with the process. Egg freezing can provide hope for a future pregnancy, but there’s no guarantee of success. If you’re considering freezing your eggs, look for a fertility clinic with expertise in the field. Experts are commonly known as reproductive endocrinologists.
That being said, women own their bodies and are allowed to do whatever they want with it. Technology and proper medications are there to help the women race use their bodies to their full potential, and this is indeed giving women more choices with how they want to live their lives.
Photo is courtesy of Gretchen Fullido’s Instagram account
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