If you want to have a baby in the future, you may think about freezing your eggs. This procedure lets you save your healthy eggs at a younger age, so you can use them down the road.
There are many reasons you may want to freeze your eggs. Often, women have the procedure because health conditions affect their ability to get pregnant. In 2012, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) cleared the use of egg freezing for non-medical purposes. That means you can make the choice to use it based on your own unique circumstances and needs.
Why Freeze Your Eggs?
Freezing your eggs gives more control over when you want to have a baby. You may consider the procedure for medical reasons, personal goals, or lifestyle choices.
Age
Age is a big reason many women choose to freeze their eggs. The older you get, the less likely you are to become pregnant. This is partly due to the number and quality of eggs you have as you get older. Research suggests that by age 43, 90% of your eggs are not suitable for pregnancy.
If you freeze your eggs during your prime, you can save healthier ones to use later. This can improve your odds of pregnancy when you’re ready.
Also, because your egg quality is generally better when you’re younger, you’re less likely to have a child with a genetic condition.
Lack of a partner
Many women who aren’t in committed relationships choose to freeze their eggs. This option can buy you time until you find the right partner. In one study, 85% of working women said they froze their eggs because they were single.
Another possible scenario is that your partner isn’t around enough. Maybe they are deployed or travel a lot. Being apart can make it tough to start a family.
Health conditions
Certain health issues make it harder to plan a family. Freezing your eggs early on in your medical journey allows you to save healthy ones to use later. That means you’ll have a better chance of having a baby.
You might choose to freeze your eggs if you have these medical conditions:
- Cancer
- Sickle cell disease (a disease that happens when your red blood cells are shaped wrong)
- Autoimmune disorders, like lupus or multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Endometriosis (a condition where tissue similar to the lining of your uterus grows outside your uterus)
- Ovary cysts or other conditions that affect your ovaries
- Early menopause (menopause before age 45)
- Genetic diseases, like Turner syndrome or fragile X syndrome
- Kidney disease
- Other serious illnesses
Medical treatments
Certain procedures and medicines can damage your healthy eggs and affect your fertility. You may opt to freeze your eggs before you have:
- Chemotherapy or other harsh medicines used to treat cancer or autoimmune diseases
- Radiation therapy
- Surgery to remove your ovaries
- A procedure that damages your ovaries
Not ready for kids
Some women freeze their eggs simply because they aren’t ready to start a family. The procedure lets you preserve your fertility until the time is right for you. In short, it can offer you peace of mind.
Career or education
You may choose to freeze your eggs if you want to focus on your career or education goals. With this option, you’ll have more time and flexibility to plan your path. You could get an advanced degree or get promoted to a higher-level position if you postpone pregnancy. Some companies even offer egg freezing benefits for their employees.
Financial reasons
The choice to delay pregnancy can provide long-term financial benefits. For some women, the cost of egg freezing is worth it when they consider how much more they can make in their early working years. Studies show college-educated women who put off having kids until after age 31 earn more over their careers than women with no children.
LGBTQ+ concerns
Research shows about 2.6 million LGBTQ+ adults in the United States are parents to kids under age 18. Transgender or gay couples who want to have a family may choose to freeze their eggs. This fertility option gives them more flexibility.
For female same-sex couples, one partner might choose to freeze her eggs so the other can carry the baby. Or both partners can freeze their eggs. Then the couple can decide what to do later on.
If you transition, you may need to take medicines or have surgeries that affect your fertility. People assigned female at birth (AFAB) might want to freeze their eggs before they transition. This allows them the chance to have biological children in the future.
Ethical or religious reasons
Some women choose to freeze their eggs instead of embryos (a fertilized egg) when they use in vitro fertilization (IVF). This decision may stem from religious or ethical concerns. For example, some people believe an embryo is already a form of life, so they don’t feel it’s right to create or freeze them.
Show Sources
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SOURCES:
Penn Medicine: “Egg Freezing.”
UNC Fertility: “Egg Freezing,” “Navigating Fertility Preservation: A Guide for Transgender Individuals.”
YaleNews: “‘Motherhood on ice’: Exploring why women freeze their eggs.”
Oncofertility: “Reproductive ‘Choice’ and Egg Freezing.”
Cleveland Clinic: “What To Know About Freezing Your Eggs,” “Premature and Early Menopause.”
American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM): “Can I Freeze My Eggs to Use Later if I’m not Sick?”
Johns Hopkins Medicine: “Freezing Eggs: Preserving Fertility for the Future.”
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology: “Elective egg freezing and its underlying socio-demography: a binational analysis with global implications.”
NYU Langone Health: “Egg Freezing & Embryo Banking,” “Frozen Eggs More Efficient Option Than In Vitro Fertilization for Women Starting Families Later.”
UCLA Health: “Egg Freezing.”
Women’s Studies International Forum: “Employer funded egg freezing: An advance for women in the workplace or a return to the unencumbered employee?”
WashU Medicine: “For women, waiting to have children until after 30 minimizes career income losses.”
UCLA School of Law Williams Institute: “LGBTQ Parenting in the US.”
University of Utah Health: “Freezing Eggs for Future Fertility.”
