Dr. Saroja Koppala, Fertility Consultant at Nova IVF Fertility, Hyderabad.
Millennial women these days are extremely focused on their careers, and they want to build a life for themselves before they decide to tie the knot or start a family. Women are independent to make their own choices like get married or have babies. Once a woman has reached a certain point in her career, she might start thinking about having a child. However, it so happens sometimes that women are ready to have a child (with or without a husband/wife) they go for a regular check-up and realize that they have either a low chance of getting pregnant or are infertile. It is ideal for women to plan for a pregnancy at the right time but if they are not able to plan then there are alternatives/ options for that.
Female millennials take on egg freezing a.k.a Cryo-preservation and fertility preservation.
Now what we do know is that women have a limited number of eggs, and they are born with those. However, over time these eggs might either get damaged or depleted due to various medical conditions and factors in one’s life. That is why doctors are now advising young women to, get a check-up around their late teens and early twenties so that they are aware of their reproductive health and to figure out if they have any health condition that might impact their egg quality or problems with the eggs.
Technology has upgraded so much so that women can now freeze their eggs. Egg freezing can be a great way to preserve good-quality eggs. Women who might have fewer eggs or are undergoing radiation for cancer treatment generally get their eggs frozen as radiation can harm the eggs in a way where they will not be recoverable. In this process women not only invest in egg freezing, but they invest in their emotions as well. We know the fertility of a woman declines with age (the number and quality of eggs in the ovary declines after a certain age, and these days women are delaying getting married to pursue their dreams. One does not have to be too worried about the procedure of egg freezing as it is simple.
- It involves a series of hormonal injections which are given over a period of 10 days.
- Once the eggs are mature, the woman is then given a shot of general anaesthesia and the eggs are then retrieved.
- The retrieved eggs are then frozen at an extremely low temperature, somewhere about minus 190 degrees Celsius.
- The frozen eggs are then safe with the lab till she decides to use her eggs and conceive a child.
- Cryo-preservation (egg freezing) is potentially helping young female professionals to control their reproductive destiny.
How women are becoming champions of their own reproductive Health:
Information about yourself and being aware of your body can be one of the greatest things to happen to a woman. Earlier, people tried to convince women that they could not have it all. A husband, a child, and a career at the same time. However, the latest technology has helped women is changing their life forever. Women can decide when to have a child without any pressure from society because her ‘body clock’ is not the thing that decides her career or family plan. She, herself decides when she wants to start a family without being worried whether she will conceive or not. It is rightly stated that knowledge is power, and we should encourage more young women to become aware of their bodies from a younger age so that they can take the right step towards having a family and a career.
