The power of choice now rests in the hands of women professionals. They may choose motherhood as per their own convenient time. The comfort that comes from the choice of egg freezing is driving more and more women globally to explore this advanced and effective fertility solution.

Advances in reproductive technology have given the new-age woman the choice and possibility of fulfilling her life goals before opting for pregnancy. These goals may be as varied as pursuing higher education, career advancements, waiting it out for her Mr. Right, or opting for financial stability and security.  The social taboos associated with fertility solutions like IVF, egg freezing, and surrogacy are now a thing of the past. Today, a woman can pause her ticking biological clock by opting for the popular egg freezing procedure.

Ms. Goral Gandhi, a Consultant Clinical Embryologist in Mumbai and the Founder and Scientific Director at Global Fertility Solutions, says that it gets increasingly difficult for a woman in her late 30s and 40s to get pregnant and deliver healthy babies as advancing female age is greatly associated with declining fertility. Through Egg Freezing treatments you can not only become a mother at your chosen time without worrying about the risks of declining fertility but also reduce the chances of any potential genetic anomalies in the babies of older mothers. It is a wonderful option for all those women above 30, who cannot or do not wish to become a mother in near future.

In the following write-up, Ms. Goral Gandhi tries to answer some of the common queries associated with egg freezing.

What is the procedure all about?

The whole process is divided into three stages

• Stimulating the ovaries – Quite similar to in-vitro fertilization (IVF), the ovaries are stimulated with hormone injections for several days. This is done to produce multiple eggs in your ovaries instead of just one egg that grows naturally each month.
• Follicular monitoring and blood tests – All throughout the first stage (stimulation period), the follicles are monitored regularly for their growth through blood tests and ultrasounds.
• Egg retrieval and freezing – Lastly, ovulation is triggered by giving a medication and then the mature eggs are harvested. These eggs or oocytes are then frozen by expert embryologists using a very modern technology called Egg Vitrification.

What precautions should be taken up by a woman going for the egg freezing procedure?

During the Oocyte cryopreservation/ egg freezing process, it is imperative for the woman to take good care of her overall health. The prerequisites include having nutritious food, regular exercise, and adequate sleep. For a healthy lifestyle, the woman should refrain from any type of recreational drugs, excessive caffeine, and alcohol.

How affordable is the egg freezing procedure?

Egg freezing is a new cutting-edge technology in infertility medicine and involves half the process of IVF.  The cost of retrieval and freezing of eggs may vary between Rs 1 lakh – Rs 1.5 lakh.  There are also costs of fertility injections needed to stimulate the ovaries to produce more eggs. The annual egg storage costs may be anywhere between Rs 15,000 to Rs30,000 per year. However, one must bear in mind that in the late thirties or early forties, the cost of IVF would increase greatly and chances of success would be much lower than using younger frozen eggs. Egg freezing is an expensive process but it should be treated as insurance.

Are there any risks involved?

Although egg freezing is regarded as a very safe and well-established process, it may involve some potential health risks similar to those of ovarian stimulation, an illness where ovaries turn swollen and painful, leading to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This in turn causes symptoms such as bloating, vomiting, and very rare blood clots.

Some other unwanted, temporary side effects may arise such as mood swings, weight gain, and headaches.

For further details, clarification, and information,

Connect with Ms Goral : +91 9821618106 ; goralgandhi@gmail.com ; www.goralgandhi.com