Nowadays the number of women who are faced with the prospect of infertility is increasing and the causes are multiple. The modern woman claims a more dynamic social role than in the past: she studies, makes a career, seeks financial independence. The priority in the professional career leads her to minimize the time of finding a partner and developing a meaningful relationship. Therefore, starting a family is postponed.
The use of contraception also has its share of responsibility. It cultivates, despite its innovative action, another illusion: that we have complete control over our fertility. However, scientific data show that 1 in 6 couples experience difficulty conceiving. In fact, 40% of cases are of female origin. If we add the age factor to these statistics, then the numbers increase rapidly, since female fertility is extremely vulnerable over time.
These new data strongly affect the prospect of motherhood. On the other hand, the science of assisted reproduction, in which excessive expectations are often placed, remains weak in effectively overcoming the disturbances caused by the age factor in egg function. The effectiveness of IVF cycles decreases rapidly after the age of 40 and almost zero after the age of 45.
But how will his wife today be able to combine her new social role with the traditional one, that of motherhood? Nowadays prevention seems to be the only solution. Prevention means starting a family before the age of 35. In cases where this is not possible, then cryopreservation of eggs at high fertility ages (26 – 33 years) seems to offer a safe option. The modern woman can now schedule her fertility for the time she desires. Preserving her eggs by cryopreservation, she knows that there is stored genetic material that can be used in the future.
With the new method of vitrification, it seems that the cryopreservation of eggs, and therefore the preservation of female fertility, is a feasible goal. Research has shown that over 95% of eggs that are cryopreserved by this method survive after thawing and can enter the fertilization process by achieving percentages corresponding to fresh eggs.
To which categories of women is the method of cryopreservation of eggs addressed?
- In cases of medical problems affecting ovarian function, such as chemotherapy, endometriosis, surgical removal of the ovaries. In these cases, women are faced with the possibility of losing their fertility temporarily or permanently.
- When professional – financial conditions and personal reasons lead the modern woman to postpone the creation of a family. The possibility of early cryopreservation of eggs at high fertility ages relieves the woman from the pressure of age.
- When there is a family history of premature menopause, or the woman is diagnosed with premature ovarian failure. These women often have a small supply of eggs in their ovaries and experience earlier processes to reduce their fertility. If these women cryopreserve their eggs in time, premature menopause will not affect their ability to become mothers.
How is the process done?
Egg cryopreservation involves the taking of eggs, by the technique of transvaginal ovulation either in a natural cycle (without drugs) or after stimulation of the ovaries with drugs aimed at the multiple production of eggs. This stage lasts about 10-12 days from the start of the period. At the end of the treatment, the process of egg collection (egg collection) under the influence of alcohol and their cryopreservation by the method of vitrification takes place. The effectiveness of the method is directly related to both the quantity and the quality of the eggs collected. It is known that both of these important parameters are burdened with age. The method is considered completely safe and controlled as the possibility of serious side effects from drugs and complications during ovulation is negligible.
The result
When a woman wants to use her eggs, they are thawed and fertilized. From a healthy fertilized egg will be created an embryo, which can then be transferred to the woman’s uterus and achieve a pregnancy. With this method, the chances of getting pregnant are proportional to the age of the eggs (age at the time of receiving them) and not to the age of the woman at the time she decides to have children. Any large number of good quality embryos resulting from the IVF procedure can be cryopreserved and the embryo transfer can take place in the future.
A woman who decides to postpone the formation of her family until after 40 and proceeds to cryopreserve her eggs until the age of 35, increases her fertility by 48% by the time she wants to have children, while at the same time she has already saved the 27% of the expenses he would make for fertility treatments!
Thanks to these developments, women today can, for the first time, take matters into their own hands and define their own reproductive perspective. Early storage of her eggs allows her to manage her fertility in the future and make all the important decisions concerning her life, without the pressure of age.
The modern woman more than ever needs the support of both society and science in order to continue to act socially but also to satisfy her need for reproduction. Women who choose to store their eggs, in time, ensure their right to motherhood. And this, in a modern, very demanding environment for women, offers a new way out, an additional possibility that is in her hands to be exploited.