Fertility preservation up in TN: Doctors

Mainly called social freezing or social oocyte cryopreservation, this form of fertility preservation has been gaining attention among many women in their late 20s, who are not looking forward to bearing children immediately. “Earlier, this process was considered as a mere experimental procedure. However, now, it has been declared as a standard procedure,” said Dr Madhupriya, Fertility Consultant at Nova IVI Fertility.

Stating that this has helped many women who wish to postpone their pregnancy, she said, “Most women now want to concentrate on their jobs and education or have not found a partner yet. Once a woman crosses 30 years of age, the quantity and quality of her eggs tends to reduce. This affects her chances of getting pregnant.”

Stressing on the procedure gaining precedence, Dr Priya Selvaraj, a Fertility Specialist, said, “It is not that women are queuing up. However, it has proven to benefit a number of women. One of my patients has now spontaneously conceived after getting married at 38 – which was three years after freezing her eggs. One must be aware that fertility declines post 35. Therefore, these decisions should be made early.” 

While women were least aware about this in the past, nowadays they come forward for advice on this aspect, said Dr Madhupriya. 

“We have been seeing a number of women in their late 20s opting for counselling. Awareness in this aspect has increased drastically. Women who have fibroids too are keen on identifying the possibility of having children,” she said. However, she added that there are disadvantages too. “We cannot give a 100 per cent guarantee that the woman will be able to bear children with these frozen eggs,” she stated.