You plan to conceive but at a later date. You also know that over time, the number and quality of your eggs dwindle. Your fertility is not only affected by advancing age. Factors such as medical situations and treatments can also threaten your fertility. Other concerns, like a family history of early menopause, could also be in the equation. Such factors could prompt you to consider egg freezing. Hoboken egg freezing is a safe and effective fertility preservation strategy. The process entails extracting eggs from your ovaries and freezing them to be used later through assisted reproductive technology like IVF. Before you dive in, though, here are a few vital considerations to keep in mind.
It is not fool-proof
While egg freezing is an excellent fertility preservation technique, you shouldn’t consider it insurance. The strategy increases your conception likelihood, but there is no guarantee of a future pregnancy. This is because its success relies on factors like the quality of eggs that can’t be ascertained during retrieval. Moreover, not all eggs will survive the thawing process, and there is no guarantee that they can be successfully fertilized. Naturally, you want to focus on the positives, but accounting for egg-freezing limitations is critical to ensure you make an informed decision.
The risks
Egg retrieval is a medical procedure. While relatively safe, like any other medical procedure, it has risks and complications. The process uses a transvaginal ultrasound aspiration needle. This means you can experience complications like infection, bleeding, and bladder/bowel tissue damage. Under an experienced specialist’s hands, the risks and complications are unlikely, but accounting for them is essential.
Potential side effects
Egg freezing success rate significantly depends on the number and quality of the retrieved eggs. As such, you will be injected with a hormone to help the ovaries produce enough mature eggs. The fertility drugs could result in some side effects, including cramps, headaches, nausea, vomiting, mood changes, anxiety, and depression. Besides such unpleasant side effects, hormonal injections can also cause ovarian hyperstimulation. This is a rare side effect characterized by swelling and painful ovaries.
The process
Egg freezing is not a quick process where you can walk into the doctor’s office, complete, and resume your routine. It takes proper reparations and steps to facilitate a notable success rate. This includes the hormone injection and some scans plus blood tests. The scans help monitor the ovaries’ progress, which may necessitate adjusting the medication. The blood tests screen for infections like hepatitis B and C and HIV, among others, that impact your fertility. The process can take time, meaning you need to consult your schedule and ensure other faculties will not be affected.
The cost
Egg freezing can be termed as buying time. Time is not cheap, but the price you pay to increase the likelihood of conceiving in the future is money well spent. Nonetheless, you must consult your budget and ensure that egg freezing won’t cause financial stress.
Egg freezing continues to be a go-to for women looking to increase their likelihood of conception when they are ready. It is a practical strategy, especially considering how overwhelming fertility problems can get over time. Visit University Reproductive Associates (URA) today for more on egg freezing and all your fertility concerns.