Egg freezing is a new fertility trend. It involves the procurement of a woman’s eggs from the uterus and keeps it frozen. This takes place for a certain time period. Then again the eggs are re-implanted when the woman is ready to get pregnant. This practice, involving the freezing of eggs, has become popular after the groundbreaking advancements made in the year 2012.

The freezing and the thawing strategies have helped in the perseveration of fertile eggs. That is why it is regarded as a boon to many women, around the world. After the invention of the birth control pills, in the 1960s, this is perhaps another step which revolutionized the birth control method of women.

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How to Freeze Your Eggs?

However, unlike the birth control pill the fertilization of egg is not a quick process. Firstly, it requires two weeks of self-injections. Secondly, the eggs need to be extracted from the uterus.  The third step involves freezing of the eggs in liquid nitrogen. The final step is to place the eggs in some storage facility, until the donor chooses to use them.

Once the owner of the eggs chooses to fertilize the eggs, she needs to undergo certain medication. In such cases the eggs are fertilized by injecting sperms in them. This is done as the egg shells harden, due to the freezing process. She needs to undergo another round of injections and medications to ensure the pregnancy.

It is a very elaborative and costly process. But slowly as the technology is improving, the process is becoming more common amongst women from different corners of the world is using it to enjoy its benefits.

However, this process comes with its own advantage and disadvantages. Firstly, we will talk about the advantages of freezing your egg. Then we will discuss its cons.

Pros of Freezing Your Eggs

There are many advantages of the process. Some of them are listed below:

Reproductive Freedom

This process has allowed women to enjoy their reproductive freedom. They now have the option to choose the time of their getting pregnant, without having to worry whether or not they will remain fertile.

Genetically Relatable Child

Women without partners or aspiring single parents can have genetically relatable babies through this process. This is a big emotional advantage as far as the mothers are concerned. They also do not need to depend for occyte donors to get pregnant.

Reduces Number of Infertility Treatments

This process has reduced the number of infertility treatments by a great deal. Women now do not need to wait till a certain age to freeze their eggs. They can freeze their eggs whenever they are fertile and then later can choose to become pregnant, when it suites them. In this way they can dodge the expensive and also ineffective infertility treatments.

Reduces Regret

In the past there had been many women who had regretted the opportunity of not becoming pregnant at the right age and time. Later, it became very difficult or impossible for them to get pregnant. Through this technology, the scopes of such regrets are lessened by a considerable extent.

Promotes Gender Equality

It has also promoted gender equality in work. This is because the women now have the liberty of choosing the time-frame in their lives and careers, to get pregnant. It is more planned and they can reach certain career goals before choosing to be pregnant.

Eliminates the Taboo

This scientific process entirely eradicates the previous taboos and prejudices surrounding the ineffective fertility treatments. The scientific process has given women, of this era, a new confidence that they can get pregnant at any point of their lives, by freezing their eggs.

However, everything is not hunky-dory as far as freezing of eggs is concerned. There are also some major drawbacks of this process.

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Cons of Freezing Your Eggs

There is some health related as well as financial shortcomings of freezing of the eggs. The following are the downsides of egg freezing:

Exposes the Risk of Medication

In this process you will be undergoing a lot of injections and medications. This can potentially expose your body to different levels of risks. If you have previous experience of ailments then it complicates things even further. The entire process takes its toll on your entire body and sometimes it might expose you to different levels of risks.

Commercially Expensive

Freezing of eggs is still a very expensive procedure. It will burn a hole in your financial savings. Also the charges are not constant throughout all the states. The charges vary in accordance to your physical condition and the processing time it will take to extract and store your eggs.

Discourages Adoptions

The pressure of having a genetic connection between the mother and the child often discourages the practice of adoptions. People rely on getting pregnant themselves rather than adopting other children in need. This increases the chance of population, in an already overpopulated world. The most unfortunate part is that people who can adopt (the rich and wealthy) can actually afford this kind of treatment. That is where the irony remains.

Causes Hormone Imbalance

The injections given to you will artificially stimulate your hormones to produce more eggs at a certain time. This might cause hormone imbalance and can cause multiple levels of problems. The hormones inside you might get imbalances and cause physical and emotional problems for you. The process is not 100% secure as the reaction to external hormone stimulate is different for different people.

Does not Guarantee Pregnancy

After everything, freezing of eggs does not guarantee pregnancy. All the cost you incurred and all the medications you have undergone might just end up in nothing. This is another huge shortcoming of this process. Your doctors will brief you about the risks and the chances of failure; however, you must also know that your final desire might as well remain unfulfilled.

Pregnancy is precious for many women. However, it is not the ultimate thing in life. If you are planning on freezing your eggs, you must be aware of the consequences of the process. It is still an evolving technology and hence there are still some risks associated with it.

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