Increasingly, I see more and more women coming into the clinic wanting to freeze their eggs, particularly if they have reached their late thirties but don’t feel ready to have children, haven’t met the right partner or have been diagnosed with an illness such as cancer. While the techniques have greatly improved over the years with a process called vitrification, which helps make it easier to freeze eggs, there remains a number of factors for women to consider around preserving their eggs.

Here are seven key things that women should consider before freezing their eggs:

1. Understanding what’s involved starts with a consultation
The first, and potentially most important step before egg freezing is the consultation. If you are ready to proceed then you should see one of our doctors, so that they can not only plan your treatment but do blood tests as well, which will enable the doctor to assess your eggs reserves. This will help better understand how many eggs you are likely to produce and check your anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) level and also an antral-follicle count – the higher the egg reserve, or antral-follicle count, the better the chances of getting an adequate amount of eggs. It’s important to realise that a number of them will be lost during the thawing process, so if the count is low it will mean that you will have to do the procedure more than once in order to get the amount of eggs needed to increase your chances of getting pregnant. It is also important to understand that it is not just about the production of eggs, it is about ensuring we get mature eggs that are viable for freezing.

2. Age is key
Age is the biggest determining factor in the success of egg freezing. Typically, the younger the eggs, the more chromosomally normal they will be, while the older you are, there is an increasing chance there will be more chromosomally abnormal eggs and that you are likely to have a lower reserve. This therefore means you may have to undergo two or three cycles to get the amount needed and you will have to take into account the cost, as well as the emotional toll it may take on you.

Many of the women I see are aged around 39 or 40, which is often very late to freeze eggs because of the chances of egg reserves being lower and therefore the amount of eggs available to successfully freeze is also much lower.

Thousands of babies have now been born worldwide from treatment using previously frozen thawed mature eggs. The best success rates are from eggs frozen before a person is 35 years of age. When looking at success rates within the UK for treatments that have used frozen eggs, numbers tend to be quite low and the technology for egg freezing has also improved over the years which means older data isn’t likely to be a good indicator of current success rates.

For information on your chances of success when having treatment with your frozen eggs HFEA advise you look at success rates for fresh IVF cycles where patients have used their own eggs in their own age band. The HFEA considers these success rates to be more reliable as there are higher numbers of embryo transfers following treatment with fresh eggs compared to transfers using embryos created with previously frozen eggs.

You can find success rates for fresh IVF cycles where patients have used their own eggs here

3. How many eggs am I likely to get in an egg freezing cycle?
If you’re 37 or younger and have a normal ovarian reserve you’re likely to retrieve around 13 eggs per cycle. If you’re older than 38 however and have a low ovarian reserve, ideally you will want to freeze 20-30 eggs in order to achieve a baby and this is rarely possible in just one egg freeze cycle.

4. Eggs can be stored for 55 years

The law allows you to store eggs for use in treatment for up to 55 years but for storage to continue lawfully, you would need to renew your consent every 10 years.

5. Your future fertility
Choosing to freeze your eggs doesn’t have a detrimental effect on your future fertility and it doesn’t use up your eggs or exhaust your existing supply. However, it is important to bare in mind that although the procedure is a very safe one, it is not completely without risk.

6. It is similar to the IVF process
Many women I see are unaware of the fact that egg freezing involves going through a similar process to IVF in order to collect the eggs. To collect the eggs, your ovaries need to be stimulated, which involves injections and you will also have a number of scans to check how your follicles are growing. You produce lots of eggs in any one month during a natural cycle but only one egg is usually released, so for egg freezing the aim is to produce a larger number of eggs. When ready, you will then go to theatre and, under light sedation, the eggs are collected vaginally using ultrasound guidance.

Once collected, the eggs are assessed by the embryologist for suitability and any mature eggs are then frozen. Then, when you are ready to use your eggs, they are thawed very slowly and inseminated with sperm. Following fertilisation, the eggs develop into embryos and one is inserted into your uterus. Any remaining embryos can then be frozen and used at a later date.

7. Preparation is vital
I am a big believer in the importance of preparation on every level – mentally, physically and emotionally – prior to undergoing the egg freezing procedure to help improve the quality of your eggs. One of the most important ways a woman can prepare for egg freezing, is to ensure the specific nutritional requirements of an egg are being met. This means building nutrients into your diet or looking at supplements such as anti-oxidants and inositol where necessary, as they can really help in that preparation process and make sure you give yourself the best chance of success.

If you are considering egg freezing and would like to have an initial consultation with one of our experienced team members at our clinic in London, then call us on 0808 196 4060. You may also be interested in our Plan Ahead kit, which is designed to provide you with a better understanding of where you are now and what the next steps are that you should take.

How to deal with fertility issues at work

Something we see many of our clients struggling with throughout their cycles is how to deal with work as well as their fertility treatment. One of the challenges women face when going through IVF is to whether to tell their colleagues and bosses; some companies are very good, and of course all should be, but it can still be a difficult subject to raise.

Here are my tips when you’re going through fertility treatment while working:

• It’s hard work doing IVF and working full time as it needs some preparation, especially in the first 10 days or so when you need to have scans and blood tests during the monitoring phase of your cycle. If you are able to take this time off then do, but understandably many won’t, so make sure you plan your diary carefully and allow time not only for the appointment, but factor in delays as appointments don’t always run to time and the last thing you want to be feeling on top of everything else, is stressed that you won’t be back in the office when you said you would be.
• Focus on what you are doing, and don’t try to schedule in exercise or adding another long to do list at work to your already busy schedule!
• Build your reserves, go to bed early and sleep as much as you can, use visualisation to make the world around you a calm, peaceful place. Before you embark on the cycle, ensure your bedroom feels like a calming sanctuary, so keep it as decluttered as possible so that when it comes to going to sleep, your mind and body feel as relaxed as they can.
• Don’t take on any extra chaos at work or in your life, look after yourself first and foremost! We’ve got all those collegaues who we love dearly but who also can cause immense stress – try to stay away from these situations as much as you can while you’re going through IVF.
• Nourish yourself, but do build in a few treats, it’s already a challenging enough time without feeling you can’t enjoy your favourite cake or chocolate bar. Although I would advise no alcohol during your IVF cycle I’m afraid.
• Ask your partner for help to support you, and make sure you are there for him as well. This is something you’re going through together so make sure you look out for each other and talk through how you are both feeling. Friends, family and colleagues would also love to help, but many just don’t know what to say! Bring them in (if you want to) as sometimes it’s good to talk things through with an outsider. If you feel you need more support than this, hypnotherapy can really benefit you.

Zita says…

“We now know that up to 50 per cent of all cases of infertility are associated with a male factor. That figure surprises many, because through generations we’ve been lead to believe fertility is all about women but of course this is the case, it does take two to make a baby!

Many men discount the need for getting checked out via semen analysis mainly, I believe, out of fear. But burying your head in the sand will not make the problem go away, and it’s far better to be proactive.

One question I’m asked all the time is whether you need to ‘save up’ sperm for fertility, but the idea of this is a myth as it will die after a few days. Research shows that the more fresh the sperm, the better the quality.

Some couples try to ‘save up’ sperm for the ovulation period, and then barely have any sex at all through the month. Whilst it’s true that you’re most fertile during this time, you should still try to conceive every two or three days regularly throughout the month to maximise your chances. In fact, the fresher the sperm the healthier it is! The key thing for fertility is to make sure there is a good supply of fresh, healthy sperm at the ready.”