Fertility Preservation for Women
The best time to begin family planning is before you’re ready to have a child. For many women, fertility preservation is an important first step when preparing for the future. Understand your fertility preservation options and how they compare.
What is fertility preservation?
Fertility preservation is the process of retrieving and storing eggs or embryos for future use. This gives women the flexibility to take control of their family-building timeline and have children when the time is right.
Since the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) removed the experimental label from egg freezing in 2012, fertility preservation procedures have significantly gained popularity. But how effective are these procedures? Studies by ASRM have found that pregnancy outcomes for IVF using cryopreserved oocytes (eggs) are comparable to using fresh oocytes.
Each year, thousands of women opt for fertility preservation, with a growing number of children born from frozen eggs and embryos. Learn about the reasons why women decide to freeze their eggs.
Reasons to consider fertility preservation
There are many reasons why fertility preservation can be a viable option during your family planning journey.
Women are born with a finite number of eggs, and both quality and quantity of eggs decreases over time. Preserving eggs can mitigate age-related fertility decline. One way to look at egg freezing is that you’re “donating” quality eggs to yourself later in your life.
Regardless of age, it simply may not be the right time in a woman’s life to have children. Many women choose to delay family building in order to focus on career growth, education, financial stability, or personal goals.
There are also medical reasons why women may freeze their eggs or embryos. Certain medical treatments, such as chemotherapy, can impact fertility, making it difficult or impossible to conceive without intervention. Egg freezing allows women to focus on their health with less worry about fertility implications.
Fertility preservation options for women
Egg freezing
Egg freezing (oocyte preservation) involves egg retrieval and storage. The process includes:
Stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple eggs
Retrieving the mature eggs in a minimally-invasive procedure
Freezing unfertilized eggs for future use
Then when a woman is ready to become pregnant, the eggs are thawed, fertilized with sperm, and transferred into the uterus as embryos.
Embryo freezing
This process starts with ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, just like egg freezing. However, the eggs are fertilized with sperm to create embryos before being frozen. When the time is right, the embryos are thawed and transferred into the uterus.
Egg freezing vs. embryo freezing
Embryos generally have slightly higher success rates during thawing than frozen eggs, when accounting for a variety of factors including maternal age, egg quality, and cryopreservation technique. But this doesn’t make embryo freezing the better option for every situation.
Embryo freezing requires sperm. This means that embryo use requires consent from both partners — the egg provider and sperm provider— at the time of thawing. Egg freezing offers more autonomy for single women or those uncertain about a partner's future involvement.
Several other factors play a role in the decision. Your doctor can help you understand your options and determine which treatment route is best for you.
Understand Your Fertility Preservation Options
Ready to learn more about your fertility preservation options? Reach out to schedule a personalized consultation with Dr. Lina Akopians to compare your options and choose the best path for your family planning journey.