The Journal of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada has just published guidelines for physicians outlining the information that women need to know if they are considering freezing their eggs. http://www.jogc.com/article/S1701-2163(17)30800-9/fulltext

According to Dr Niamh Tallon, a fertility specialist with a special interest in egg freezing at Olive Fertility Centre, the guidelines couldn’t be more timely. “Women need to be empowered with information that allows them to make informed decisions about their fertility. At Olive we have been seeing a growing number of younger women who want to freeze their eggs as insurance for the future.”

Olive Fertility Centre will be offering a free information session for women interested in egg freezing on Thursday, February 22^nd at 6:00 pm at Olive Fertility Centre. http://olivefertility.com

A 2012 Statistics Canada study shows that infertility rates in Canada have almost doubled in the last two decades. This is, in part, due to the fact that, on average, women are starting their families later in life. Currently, the average age of women having a first birth in Canada is 30 years of age, and 24% of all births are to women over 35.

Not only does the quantity of eggs decline as a woman ages, but the quality declines as well. Poor egg quality leads to a higher rate of infertility, more frequent miscarriages, and a greater risk of chromosomal disorders in the offspring.

“I see women in their late 30s and early 40s who exercise, eat well and look young for their age, and they can’t understand why they are having trouble getting pregnant,” says Dr Tallon. “The fact is that 40 is not the new 30 when it comes to fertility. Our eggs are exactly as old as we are. We want women to know there is an option for them if they want to preserve their fertility when their eggs are young and healthy, in case they want to get pregnant at a later time.”

Natalie Grunberg, a patient at Olive Fertility Centre, froze her eggs at the age of 37 and is now pregnant at 41 years old.

Like many women who defer pregnancy, Natalie had just not found the right partner to have a child with. “I didn't delay getting pregnant for any other reason than I couldn't find an appropriate partner. I decided I needed to take my fertility into my own hands, and that's when I decided to have the egg retrieval," said Grunberg. She felt that freezing her eggs alleviated what she called a “burden” of wanting a child but not having a partner.

“My doctor at Olive explained that there were no guarantees, but once I decided to go ahead, I gave a mental sigh of relief. I felt that I was taking control of my future. It felt very empowering to realize that I didn’t have to wait for the right man to come along. That I could be my own family.”

The egg freezing process begins in exactly the same way as traditional IVF, which involves injecting medications that stimulate egg growth to the point they can be harvested. However, instead of fertilizing the eggs with sperm, they are frozen unfertilized and stored until a woman is ready to conceive sometime in the future. At that point, the eggs are thawed and fertilized to hopefully result in viable embryos that can then be transferred into the uterus.

“Egg freezing should not be considered a sure thing,” cautions Dr Tallon. “Unfortunately, even freezing numerous eggs cannot guarantee a healthy pregnancy will be possible. However, recent evidence suggests the success of egg freezing is now on par with traditional IVF, and is especially favourable in women under 37.”

While egg freezing does not offer any guarantees, it can provide women with some peace of mind, knowing that they can complete their education or find a partner without feeling overwhelmed by the ticking of their biological clock.

Olive Fertility is offering a free information session.
 

Olive Fertility Egg Freezing Social
Thursday, Feb 22nd, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
OLIVE FERTILITY CENTRE / RECEPTION 3rd Floor
300 East Tower, 555 West 12th Avenue.

To register go to www.olivefertility.com

ABOUT: Olive Fertility Centre is one of Canada’s largest fertility clinics, offering an advanced IVF lab, personal care teams and innovative programs that include the CCS, specialized genetic testing, egg freezing, and prenatal NIPT testing.