I read online that women who freeze their eggs in their 30s have a better chance of becoming pregnant later in life. Does this mean it’s too late for me?
It’s true that women who freeze their eggs at age 30 have a better chance of conceiving later on, but it’s important to remember that this is an average. This means that there are plenty of 40-year-olds who have healthy eggs and just as many 30-year-olds whose egg quality could be lower than expected. If you research your personal family history and find that the women in your family had children later in life, this may mean that you too have good odds of having healthy eggs.
Additionally, the process for collecting and freezing eggs isn’t always simple or cheap. There are physical side effects involved; for example, one woman described it as “‘like having 15 to 20 period cycles in one month.'” As a result, it’s likely not a practical choice for every woman looking towards the future of her fertility.
That said, if you are interested in egg freezing as an option for yourself, doing some research about how the process works can help inform your decision. A helpful place to begin would be reading through online resources such as [this article](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/freezing-eggs_n_5beb45c1e4b0a8dbeac3a2a2) by Danielle Campoamor or [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCktHl1xJAs) by CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta MD:
This is a good question and one that many women ask. What you read is true — there are fewer eggs available for freezing at 40 than there are at age 30, and the quality of the eggs diminishes as well.
Oocyte cryopreservation (egg freezing) at age 40 is certainly not impossible. However, the process is more difficult and time-consuming than it would be when you’re younger — there are fewer eggs available for retrieval, and those eggs tend to have a lower fertilization rate.
The first step for any woman who wants to freeze her eggs is to talk with a physician about her health history and goals. The next step will be a blood test and an ultrasound of the ovaries to ensure that the candidate is healthy enough for egg freezing, as well as determine if she has additional fertility risk factors that need treatment or monitoring during the process. This can include tests of ovarian reserve (AMH level), genetic testing, uterine evaluation or further assessment of hormone levels such as thyroid function or Vitamin D levels. These tests help doctors identify whether patients are good candidates for oocyte cryopreservation before they start taking hormones in preparation for stimulation and egg retrieval.
After a patient successfully undergoes egg retrieval, she will have those eggs frozen — this procedure extends their viability far into the future. When she decides to try to conceive using her frozen eggs, they are thawed out and fertilized naturally (using sperm from her partner or donor) or via IVF (in vitro fertilization). The resulting embryo(s) are transferred back into the mother’s uterus.
A patient can also choose to freeze embryos instead of unfertilized eggs — this approach typically produces better results over time because there’s less risk of cell damage during freezing and thawing. In order to do this, the woman must retrieve more mature eggs than she would with egg freezing alone; this means more expensive medications (and possibly another cycle), but also more options later on down the line.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t become pregnant at age 40 with your own eggs. There are lots of healthy moms in their early and mid-40s who conceive naturally. The key is to understand that the older you are, the more likely you are to experience infertility issues and/or pregnancy complications, so it’s important to get educated about your options (and potential risks).
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t become pregnant at age 40 with your own eggs. There are lots of healthy moms in their early and mid-40s who conceive naturally. The key is to understand that the older you are, the more likely you are to experience infertility issues and/or pregnancy complications, so it’s important to get educated about your options (and potential risks).
Age isn’t the only factor that affects conception and pregnancy. Women who are 40 may have healthier eggs than women of a similar age whose lifestyles aren’t as healthy. Some doctors may recommend screening tools such as blood work and genetic testing to evaluate a woman’s egg quality before she tries to get pregnant using her own eggs. Despite these additional steps, some women who freeze their eggs at 40 will still have difficulty getting pregnant later on because their ovarian reserve is low.
For example, if you’re single when you freeze your eggs at age 40 but don’t use them until after age 43 or 44, there’s a chance they will not be of good enough quality for IVF (in vitro fertilization) or IUI (intrauterine insemination), which means conceiving with one’s own frozen eggs might not be possible unless the person decides to adopt or use an egg donor from an egg bank. A natural pregnancy could still be possible for some people even at ages over 45 due to better health and lifestyle habits compared to other individuals of the same age. However, it’s important to note that becoming pregnant through natural conception after 45 can pose a higher risk both physically and emotionally should complications arise during pregnancy or delivery since miscarriage rates increase significantly after age 35 and obstetricians typically recommend consultation with maternal fetal medicine specialists starting around 38 weeks of gestation in patients over 35 years old
Learning about egg freezing
> Finding a fertility specialist
To find a reputable fertility specialist, you can look through options in your area as well as browse the National Infertility Association’s list of preferred providers. Consider asking friends and family for referrals to specialists they may have used or heard good things about, too.
> Preparing for your appointment
You’ll need time to prepare before your first meeting with your specialist. Take steps to gather all relevant medical history from blood work to ultrasounds, so that when it comes to the meeting you can be sure to provide an accurate record of any previous tests and procedures. You’ll want to ask questions at this appointment! Some important ones include:
- How are my chances of getting pregnant using my frozen eggs?
- When should I try to use them by?
- What medications will I take and what will my schedule be?
- How long does the process take?
- What is the cost involved? Are there payment plans available?
Here’s what you need to know about freezing your eggs if you’re over 40 years old.
With egg freezing, you may be able to avoid the complications of an unplanned pregnancy later in life. Here’s what you need to know about freezing your eggs if you’re over 40 years old.
Women tend to have fewer and lower quality eggs as they age. In fact, according to WebMD, a woman is born with all the eggs she’ll ever have (1 million), and by the time she hits puberty, she has 300,000 left. If a woman is in her early 20s when she freezes her eggs, her chances of having a successful pregnancy from those frozen eggs are higher than if she waited until age 40 or older.
According to The Atlantic, freezing human eggs hasn’t been around long enough to provide much data on success rates—and even then, it’s difficult to compare studies due to differences between clinics and populations (3). A couple of studies based on recent birth data at fertility clinics show that women who freeze their eggs at a younger age are more likely to produce successful pregnancies than women who freeze their eggs later in life (4). However, egg freezing isn’t a guarantee for pregnancy: It can help increase your chances for future fertility but doesn’t provide guarantees regarding conception. Egg freezing also comes with many risks and uncertainties: It’s expensive (it can cost up to $30-40K), there aren’t any long-term studies specifically focused on its health risks (5), it may not be covered by insurance plans depending on where you live and why you’re going through the process (6), and even if everything goes smoothly during the procedure itself , there’s still no assurance that thawing will be successful or that pregnancy will occur after implantation. You should also know that egg donation or surrogacy might be safer ways of having children later in life depending on your specific health circumstances (7). Although egg freezing may increase the odds of having children later in life versus not taking any action at all , no one knows how those odds compare.