‘It never crossed my mind that I would not be able to get pregnant.’
Your stories about egg freezing, ages 19 to 60.
orkey to start
More women are considering freezing their eggs now than ever before for a variety of reasons, whether it’s about the state of their health or the state of their … youth. But the process is expensive and isn’t without risk. These are some of the responses NBC News received from women across the country, ages 19 to 60.
“I was a single OB-GYN when I first froze my eggs. I was 34. I also knew that egg banking is not an ‘insurance policy,’ nor does it allow me to ‘take control of my fertility.’ It’s an expensive lottery ticket. … It took three years and seven rounds of IVF for me to get pregnant, which nobody expected. These experiences have changed and shaped me in so many ways. I am now an infertility doctor, and I want other people to understand that the marketing about egg banking can be very misleading.”
Infertility Doctor / Dallas / Age 37
“I am a transgender man who is in the process of beginning my hormonal transition. I want to freeze my eggs so that one day, my future wife could possibly be able to carry my egg in her body and we could have a child that shares a part of both of us.”
Marketing / Houston / Age 19
“I had two children and my oldest passed away from cancer. I wished she would have left her eggs frozen, then I would still have a piece of her. She didn’t have kids and was diagnosed at age 25.”
Business Owner / Simpsonville, S.C. / Age 60
“I haven’t frozen my eggs, nor would I consider it. I love children, but motherhood has never been a calling that I’ve felt. Another reason is the state of the world. It gets worse and worse every day. I don’t want to bring a child into this hot mess of a world.”
Health Care / Oklahoma / Age 33
“I wish I had. I am now struggling with age-related infertility and I wish I had known this was an option when I was in my 20s. My husband and I started fertility treatments two years ago when I was 38. Now that I’m 40 our options are even fewer. It never crossed my mind that I would not be able to get pregnant when I was ready to be a mom, but here I am, almost $100,000 in debt with loans and still no baby.”
Clinical Research / Wallingford, Conn. / Age 40
“I am a 34-year-old college graduate. My bills upon leaving college were so high that I put off family. Today, I am concerned I waited too long. Many of my friends, of the same age, are having what in the past would have seemed to be unusual issues with fertility. In two seconds, I could name six girls who have spent tens of thousands of dollars … all in an effort to conceive. Something is going on out here.”
Physical Therapy / Houston / Age 34
“I froze my eggs at 27 due to diagnosis of PCOS (fertility/endocrine disorder) making it harder to conceive naturally. I’m 32 now, and just delivered a baby boy from my frozen egg cycle!”
RN / Bryn Mawr, Pa. / Age 32
“I am 27 years old and lost my fiancée just over three years ago. While together we suffered two miscarriages. Since his passing, I have been diagnosed with a complex undifferentiated autoimmune disease. With that diagnosis & the complexities of grief, I am uncertain when I will be ready to have kids. I am starting school for nursing again in a week & I have been exploring the process of harvesting eggs. It would be a no-brainer, but the cost has been a big hurdle. I want biological children, but at this point in my life I face the uncertainty of not knowing if I can have a healthy pregnancy, and the weight of being nearly 30 is certainly there.”
Nursing / Parker, Colo. / Age 27
“Had I known about this option in my early 20s, I would have chosen to freeze my eggs. At the time, I was undecided on having children. My OB-GYN told me I had plenty of time … fast forward to 34 … all of a sudden, I was ‘Advanced Maternal Age.’ I had difficulty getting pregnant. I had my son at 37 and suffered eight miscarriages (four via IVF). I learned that as we age, the quality of our eggs diminishes. I often wonder if I would have a large family if I had frozen my 20-year-old eggs.”
Finance / Sharon, Mass. / Age 48
“I’m definitely considering freezing my eggs. What’s holding me back? Money. Everyone says it is so expensive and so I haven’t even thought it was a possibility. You hear about celebrities freezing their eggs or going through IVF, but they don’t have to face it as a financial burden. I’m not poor, but I’m far from rich. I have a decent job making a decent wage, but I’m assuming it takes more than that to freeze my eggs or have a child.”
Government Communications / Lexington, Ky. / Age 33
“In the orthodox Jewish community, where I’m a nurse practitioner in a fertility clinic, freezing eggs is done almost 100 percent when they feel that time is running out.”
Nurse Practitioner / Brooklyn, N.Y. / Age 19
“I am 31 and single and have heard more than once about the extra complications that can happen when you wait too long (aka when you’re too old). It actually makes me insecure about my age, even though I feel young. … Freezing my eggs would give me a peace of mind and security that I can take my time to really find my person. Dating is already weird enough without trying to put so much pressure on a relationship up front. How am I supposed to know if someone has husband potential after a first date? Sigh…”
Communications and Marketing / Charlotte, N.C. / Age 31
“I found out when I was trying to conceive in my 30s that I had low egg reserve. Had I known when I was younger I would have frozen my eggs. Fortunately, I was able to conceive … but knowing my daughter will most likely have low egg reserve, I will discuss freezing her eggs with her.”
Health Care / Fontana, Calif. / Age 41
“I froze my eggs four years ago at the age of 36. The primary reason for doing so was fear of regret … that is, if down the line I were to have trouble getting pregnant and had had the opportunity to freeze my ‘younger’ eggs and chose not to, I would be tortured with regret. It’s essentially an unconfirmed expensive insurance policy that preys on people fearing the possibility of living with regret.”
Project Management / Los Angeles / Age 40
“I did freeze my eggs when the technology was first available. My son is now 15.”
Information Technology / Atlanta / Age 51
“I am currently going through IVF and I wish, wish, wish, wish I had frozen my eggs earlier. I knew I had endometriosis, but didn’t really understand how that might affect egg quality/quantity later on in life. I also didn’t have the information or knowledge to help me understand the pros/cons. And I certainly didn’t have the financial understanding of what that would involve, and what IVF would involve.”
Education / Nonprofit / Laguna Niguel, Calif. / Age 38
“My partner and I just did it. We have seven on ice in case this first one doesn’t take.”
Health Care / Walnut Creek, Calif. / Age 35
“I have already thought about freezing my eggs because I wouldn’t want to bring a child into this world until I am in a managing role in my career. I don’t foresee having a baby within the next six years and that would put me at 30 years old, so that is why freezing my eggs is a real possibility in my near future.”
Legal / Los Angeles / Age 24
“I froze my eggs two and a half years ago, right after I turned 27. I did it for preventative reasons, as I had just been diagnosed with severe endometriosis. The diagnosis served as medical indicator for insurance, which was the only way I could afford the procedure. At the time, it felt so ‘taboo’ and I felt very alone. Since then, a specialist surgeon has taken me to stage 0, and my fertility prognosis is excellent. I am still very glad I froze my eggs, because now I have control of my fertility.”
Education Specialist for Immigrant and Refugees / New York, N.Y. / Age 29
“Absolutely! I want a family, just not right now, and I find it’s empowering to take whatever control I can to keep my body from having me feel rushed. Freeze now, carry when I’m ready.”
On-air talent for iHeartRadio / Miami / Age 33