For females, infertility risks rise with each passing year, especially for first-time mothers. If you’re not ready for a child just yet due to a bourgeoning Beverly Hills career and busy life, you may consider egg freezing as a viable solution. Any number of events could delay your timing for growing your family, and life’s full of uncertainties. Freezing your eggs helps hedge your bet in regards to having a family.
In recent years, egg-freezing has become more popular. Reproductive technology is far more advanced in the area of egg freezing and the opportunity to preserve your fertility and maintain control over your reproductive future has never been better. If figuring out how to balance your Beverly Hills career and family constantly causes stress and frustration because you just don’t have the time to devote to a baby right now egg freezing may be the answer.
What is Egg Freezing?
Egg freezing is also known as oocyte cryopreservation. It’s a process where your physician harvests your eggs, freezes them in a way that preserves them for thawing at a later date. Once you determine you’re ready for a baby, your doctor begins the process of thawing your eggs, fertilizing them with your partners’ sperm or donor sperm, then implanting them into your uterus. This is all performed via IVF, is safe and, depending on circumstances such as the mother’s health and age, the odds for success are good.
Will I Need to Take Time Away From My Beverly Hills Career for The Process?
There are several steps to the egg freezing process for which you will need time away from your office. Egg harvesting is one of the more time consuming aspects of the IVF process, so you’ll need to plan accordingly. Here is a breakdown of the steps involved in the egg freezing process.
- Timing Ovulation: This is step one and usually involves using hormonal birth control pills so the follicles grow at the same rate. That’s so your doctor may synchronize stimulating the ovaries for the most eggs. It’s also a way for you and your doctor to opt for the most convenient time for ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval. Typically, this stage lasts 2-3 weeks in most cases.
- Stimulating Your Ovaries: As soon as your menstrual cycle begins (according to the timing you and your doctor agreed upon) you’ll start your hormone injections. The goal here is stimulating your follicles for the development of multiple eggs instead of the single egg your ovaries release each month. How will this impact your Beverly Hills career? You will have regular monitoring appointments which include ultrasounds and blood tests that help establish the timing for egg retrieval. Your doctor may alter the hormonal injection dose if necessary. The hormones raise your estrogen levels, so you may experience mood swings, bloating, some discomfort and PMS-type symptoms. You’ll need 6-9 appointments over the course of under two weeks.
- Trigger Injection: About two days before the egg retrieval, you’ll receive a trigger injection. This helps your eggs mature so you’re ready for your egg retrieval.
- Egg Retrieval: During your egg retrieval you’re placed under IV sedation and your doctor inserts a catheter through your vagina, past your cervix and retrieves the mature eggs from your ovaries. The process takes under 30 minutes but because you are under sedation your medical team allows for recovery afterward. You’ll miss work on egg retrieval day and must have someone drive you home and ideally stay with you for the afternoon.
- Egg Freezing: You need not be present for the egg freezing. At this time the lab evaluates your eggs for maturity, freezes them and places them in liquid nitrogen for long-term storage.
Depending on your age and ovarian health, your doctor may require a second cycle of egg freezing for best results for future pregnancy. This allows multiple opportunities for conception. Just as with natural conception, not all eggs result in pregnancy.
How to Balance Your Beverly Hills Career and Family with Egg Freezing
Egg freezing removes some of the pressure you feel when listening to the tick-tick-tick of your biological clock. This process allows for peace of mind and control over your own reproductive future. It also provides flexibility, so you can concentrate on advancing and achieving those goals you’ve set for your Beverly Hills career. Egg freezing puts you in charge.
No matter where you find yourself on your Beverly Hills career path, you likely have very specific ideas about the right time for parenthood. Traditional timelines for growing a family don’t always align with pursuing success in your career. And there are specific life goals, beyond your Beverly Hills career, which you feel you must achieve before a baby enters the picture. A home, travel, material things, whatever it is on your personal goals list there’s no reason you should put it aside.
Give Yourself Peace of Mind
With egg freezing, you now have the option to delay starting your family while you achieve those things you wish for in life or your Beverly Hills career. It’s peace of mind many females never imagined just a few decades ago. Contact LA IVF for more information on how you may attain the peace of mind that comes from egg freezing.
