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Egg freezing has been a very distant thing from our reality in times not so distant, but nowadays the search for this type of procedure has increased a lot. Nothing unusual, if we think about how recent technological advances have made procedures like these cheaper and, therefore, more accessible to the general population.
But even with all this popularization of egg freezing , many people still have many doubts about how this procedure happens, for whom it is really indicated, if it is safe and when it costs.
Why Freeze the Eggs?
First of all, it is necessary to talk about the reasons that lead a woman to want to freeze her eggs and, for that, explain what the function of this procedure is. Egg freezing basically works as a method for a woman to get pregnant more easily after she is 35 years old.
It is estimated that a woman has about 500 thousand eggs when the first menstruation occurs, a number that goes down with age. 35 years is the age considered “final” for a woman to not suffer from fertility problems.
In addition, after this age, the risk of the baby being born with diseases such as down syndrome, for example, increases considerably. It is worth remembering that this risk does not decrease due to the frozen eggs, since they only guarantee the woman’s fertility to get pregnant.
Many women want to focus their lives on their professional career or simply enjoy more of their young life and, for this reason, freeze their eggs, since their fertility ends up being preserved. It is a woman’s option and should be well thought out, as it involves costs and a good part of her life is at stake.
How Does Egg Freezing Work?
After a woman has decided that she wants to freeze her eggs, there are a few steps that must be taken to get the procedure done correctly. They are:
- Clinical Analysis of Women;
- Ovulation stimulation;
- Ovulation Monitoring;
- Egg Removal and Freezing
Clinical Analysis of Women
At this stage, several tests are performed, such as ultrasound, for example, to check if the woman is really able to freeze her eggs. It is one of the simplest phases of the process, but extremely necessary.
Ovulation Stimulation
At this stage hormone injections are applied to the woman to stimulate her ovulation. It is a slightly more complicated and time-consuming phase , as injections are given between 8 and 14 days and it is also necessary to take medications to prevent ovulation and, consequently, menstruation.
Ovulation Monitoring
From that stage, the eggs are observed during their maturation. The woman must take medication exactly to stimulate this maturation while the whole process is analyzed through exams. It is after this phase that the doctor will judge whether the eggs are ready to be removed and frozen.
Egg Removal and Freezing
Through the vagina, the doctor removes about 10 eggs from the woman. The procedure is very quick and painless , since the woman will be medicated during the entire process. Right after removal, the eggs are frozen.
When is Egg Freezing Indicated?
This type of procedure is suitable for any woman who has the desire to be a mother, but not while she is young, but still wants to keep her fertility high. It doesn’t matter what the goal is, to rise in professional life, take care of health problems or even enjoy the life of not a mother any longer. If the woman has this desire, she can go to a clinic, talk to a doctor and perform this procedure.
Are There Risks?
The process of freezing the eggs themselves poses no risk to women. However, it is necessary to know that the older a woman is, the more risks pregnancy poses. It does not matter what age the eggs were frozen, as this is only considered for fertilization.
The pregnancy will be at the age of the woman, that is, dangers such as the baby with down syndrome are still a reality for older women.
How much does it cost to freeze eggs?
Freezing the eggs was already much more expensive and an unviable option for most people. Nowadays, with the popularization of this procedure and technological advances, the price drops a lot. But that does not mean that it is exactly cheap.
The price of egg freezing can vary between R $ 6 and R $ 10 thousand reais , depending on the clinic and the region of Brazil where you live. So it is something that should be very well thought out by the woman and discussed by the couple, when it is a joint decision, of course.
Difference between Freezing of Eggs and Embryos
Many people confuse the two, but egg freezing and embryo freezing are two different things. While the former has only female cells that can be fertilized later, embryo freezing relies on both male and female cells already fertilized by in vitro fertilization.
We can say that embryo freezing is a process after egg freezing, but they are still different things.
Freezing eggs can be a great alternative for women who intend to become pregnant later in life for a variety of reasons, be it work, study, travel or whatever.
However, it is not a simple process and much less cheap, so it is necessary that it be something very well calculated, planned and discussed both with the partner (if it is a decision as a couple) and with the doctor responsible for the coordination of the whole process. process.
With all this agreed, the woman can live her life peacefully, focus on what matters most to her at that moment and become pregnant later through in vitro fertilization. These are positive things that the current times provide us and we need to take advantage of.
See also: Tentante at 40 years old
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
