5 Egg freezing myths and reality all women need to know as per Dr Pallavi Prasad

It is a fact that a ticking biological clock is one of the key reasons for women to opt for egg freezing as with the progression of age, fertility rate declines and chances of conception become bleak. In the current scenario when women are postponing motherhood, egg freezing is a boon to such couples provided it is done at the right age. We will address some myths and false notions surrounding this procedure.

Egg freezing is not a safe procedure

Egg freezing is the method of preserving some of your eggs by collecting, freezing, and storing them from your ovaries so that you can use them later to get pregnant. Rest assured, though, that egg freezing does not carry a high risk of complications for healthy women and is considered safe and effective.

If I freeze my eggs, I can prevent unwanted pregnancies

They simply harvest a few eggs after the woman takes hormone injections to promote the release of several eggs at once, and then those are frozen. It doesn’t keep her from continuing to ovulate the next time she goes through her menstrual cycle.

Freezing eggs at present can lead to infertility in future

This is again a myth as extensive studies have proved that there is no evidence that egg freezing can lead to infertility in the future, as egg freezing involves removing eggs from the body, most people think that the process decreases the number of eggs available for a future pregnancy.

For the egg freezing treatment, it hurts to give yourself injections

The first step of the egg freezing process is ovarian stimulation which involves administering hormone injections for 10 to 12 days. Typically, these injections contain follicle stimulating hormone or a combination of luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone. The aim of the stimulation process is to create as many eggs for cryopreservation as possible (egg freezing). Each patient has a different reaction to the injections of stimulation and may feel mild discomfort or may not. It is important to anticipate physical pain, and an experienced medical professional will be on hand to clarify what is going on and offer relief every step of the way. The injections are not pleasant for most patients, but they are quick, and in a few seconds, any pain is over.

Egg freezing is life-threatening for both women and their children, and no children are born from frozen eggs.

Extensive studies have shown that by using frozen eggs or embryos, there have been no recorded variations in the possibility of birth defects, chromosomal abnormalities, or pregnancy complications (as compared to fresh eggs or embryos). Side-effects are typically rare, and those that are encountered are usually mild.

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