It may be time to find hope with egg freezing

Knowing how long you could conceive used to be nearly impossible. Creeping up on a 40th birthday or noticing subtle warning signs might have tipped you off. But until you started TTC, your fertility potential was like a French soufflé. However, you can find hope with egg freezing.

Egg freezing is getting buzz, for a reason

You must pay attention to your biological clock. A healthy baby girl is born with the right ingredients for robust reproductive potential. She will have around 300,000-500,000 eggs at puberty and a good chance for getting pregnant through her 20s and early 30s. However, fertility specialists are setting a timer, reminding women not to wait until it’s too late to start a family.

“By age 40, most women have already gone through 99.9% of their eggs,” says Dr. Kaylen Silverberg in an August 2016 article, “Freeze, But Only If You Want To,” by Taylor Freetage for Austin Fit Magazine. http://www.austinfitmagazine.com/August-2016/Freeze-But-Only-If-You-Want-To/

Age is a primary cause of female infertility. However, other problems can interfere with the quality and quantity of eggs that a woman has left. Cancer treatments and premature menopause may close a woman’s window of opportunity.

ORT you glad you came to see us?

Ovarian reserve testing, ORT, gives women a clearer picture of the quantity of eggs remaining in the ovaries so they will know when to get serious about getting pregnant or to consider elective egg freezing as a safety net.

If the blood test results come back with cause for concern, our Austin fertility specialists can help with a proactive plan. The process is similar to traditional IVF, with carefully monitored egg stimulation and an in-office egg retrieval. A new freezing technique keeps collected eggs in a glass-like state until you feel ready to use IVF to become a mom.

Egg freezing, while not a guarantee, is an option for women to take now to have a bun (or soufflé) in the oven later. Contact our Austin fertility specialists to learn more.