I feel very strongly about increasing awareness in regards to female preservation of fertility in the form of egg freezing.
I absolutely understand that women in my generation have a unique set of financial, academic, lifestyle and career factors that mean it is increasingly common to delay starting a family, either by choice or by circumstance. If you end up not having a child, I want this to be the product of an educated decision rather than the result of you being a victim of an age related decline in fertility where no timely attempt was made avoid this.
My experience tells me that the availability and success of egg freezing is not as widely known amongst women of the 30-40 year age group as it should be. Compounding this unfortunate situation, is that studies constantly show these women significantly and scarily overestimate the ability of IVF to counteract the decline in fertility that occurs with age.
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For these reasons, I recommend that every woman at the age of 30 should take the time to consider their reproductive intent and how this aligns with their current set of life circumstances. If upon reflection the answer to this introspection is “yes I will try for a baby within the next year” or “no I do not want children” then the course of action is clear. If however, the response is the more common and understandable “I’m not sure if I’ll want children” or “I know I want them but now is not a good time” then I would highly recommend coming in to see me so we can discuss your fertility with the time and accuracy it deserves.
