Should I Freeze My Eggs?

Egg freezing uses advanced technology to freeze and store your eggs when they’re the most viable. It’s one of the many revolutionary services Reproductive Endocrinologist Dr. Deborah Smith and our team offer at Rocky Mountain Fertility Center.

Read more about egg freezing and why it’s gaining in popularity.

Why would I consider freezing my eggs?

Many women choose to postpone pregnancy until they reach their 30s or 40s. Unfortunately, egg stores, quality, and viability decline steadily once you reach your early 30s, making pregnancy more difficult.

Women who might consider freezing their eggs include those postponing pregnancy because of their career, relationship concerns, or a desire to harvest eggs when they’re at their healthiest. Many women choose to harvest eggs for future pregnancies in their mid to late 20s.

You may also be a good candidate for egg freezing if you have a medical condition such as that may affect fertility later in life. Transgender individuals who desire a biological child might also favor egg freezing. 

Some people object to freezing embryos. Because the eggs are not fertilized before freezing, that isn’t a concern with this procedure.

Once you’re ready to become pregnant, we thaw your eggs, fertilize them, and place the embryos in your uterus to help you achieve a successful pregnancy.

How do you harvest eggs for freezing?

Before egg freezing, Dr. Smith reviews your health history, completes a pelvic exam, and performs a hormonal workup and other diagnostic tests to ensure you’re a good candidate.

Several steps are involved if you move forward with freezing your eggs, including:

Increasing egg production

To increase egg production, Dr. Smith prescribes birth control pills, followed by two weeks of hormone injections. This stimulates your ovaries to release multiple eggs each month. We monitor your progress with in-office vaginal ultrasounds.

Egg retrieval

When your eggs are ready, we place an ultrasound probe in your vagina and use a suction device to retrieve multiple eggs. You receive a sedative to help you relax during the procedure, which takes 15-20 minutes. 

You may experience mild pressure and cramping, but the process is otherwise painless.

Egg freezing

We freeze and store the harvested eggs until you’re ready to become pregnant, using in vitro fertilization (IVF) to implant fertilized eggs into your uterus. Because there’s no evidence that the health or viability of frozen eggs decreases with time, it’s safe to freeze eggs for a decade or longer.

How many eggs do you harvest?

Dr. Smith considers your age and chance of conceiving when collecting eggs for freezing. It takes about 10 eggs to create one future normal pregnancy. The average number of eggs retrieved on one treatment cycle will vary based on your age and egg quality. Egg freezing is usually not recommended for women over 40.

Schedule an appointment at Rocky Mountain Fertility Center today for more information about our services, including freezing your eggs for future pregnancies. Call our office in Parker, Colorado, or request a visit online.