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What is Egg Freezing & How Does it Work?

Team AckoJun 18, 2024

Egg freezing is a method to preserve a woman’s fertility. This is done to enable her to have a baby later on. Pregnancy could be postponed due to medical reasons like cancer treatment or for social reasons like studying or employment.

Contents

How is egg freezing done? What are the risks involved? How do you prepare yourself?
How can you prepare yourself?
Before:
During:
After:

All you need to know about Egg Freezing.

How is egg freezing done? What are the risks involved? How do you prepare yourself?

In this method, eggs are obtained from your ovaries. They are frozen unfertilized and are stored for later use. When you decide to have a baby, a frozen egg is thawed, combined with sperm in a lab and using IVF technique, the embryo is implanted in the uterus.

Egg freezing is a safe procedure. Your doctor will inform you about any side effects of the procedure well in advance. However, there are risks associated with this process like:

Ovarian Hypersimulation Syndrome(OHSS): The drugs used to stimulate ovaries to produce eggs, can cause OHSS. The ovaries swell up and cause pain. The symptoms are bloating, dehydration, vomiting, abdominal pain. By monitoring the symptoms and with bed rest for few days, OHSS gets treated. This risk factor is very rare.

Emotional risks: Egg freezing gives you hope for a future pregnancy but cannot guarantee pregnancy. However, the chance of a healthy pregnancy in future goes up if the eggs were frozen while you were young.

How can you prepare yourself?

-Firstly, find a fertility clinic that specializes in this field, reproductive endocrinologists.

-Get to know about the cost involved for one egg freezing cycle i.e egg retrieval, medicines and its storage.

-Be well-aware about the egg freezing cycle (before, during and after the procedure).

Before:

-On day third of your menstrual cycle, your doctor will do a blood test to find the concentration of FSH and estradiol which will determine the quantity and quality of your eggs.

-Another blood test and ultrasound evaluates how well the ovaries function.

-You will be checked for infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis B and C.

During:

-During the egg freezing process, your doctor will inject synthetic hormones to stimulate ovaries to make multiple eggs. As follicles develop, estrogen levels go up and progesterone levels remain low till and after ovulation.

-In follow-up visits, a vaginal ultrasound is carried out to see the inside of the uterus and check the development of fluid filled sacs. It is in these sacs that the eggs mature. When the follicles are well developed, generally after 10-15 days, medicine is given to help the eggs mature.

-Egg retrieval happens when the egg is removed from a follicle. Many eggs can be removed, upto 15 per cycle. More the number of eggs retrieved, better the chances of birth.

After:

-You may have cramping, feelings of pressure due to enlarged ovaries once the egg is retrieved.

-You may experience high fever, pain in abdomen, difficulty urinating and heavy vaginal bleeding.

-Finally, egg freezing happens where the unfertilized egg is cooled to subzero temperatures.

Egg freezing gives you the flexibility to have a baby on your terms. It gives you hope for pregnancy but can’t guarantee pregnancy on its own.

Check with your doctor whether you are the right candidate for this method of fertility preservation. If you are trying this fertility option, then consider the age factor. The earlier you freeze your eggs, the higher are the chances of a live birth in future.

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