Egg freezing is becoming a more popular fertility preservation practice among Indian women particularly for higher education, careers, entrepreneurship and waiting for the right partner. While the awareness is increasing, there are myths and misconceptions that keep women from doing so.
One of the biggest fears is that egg freezing will permanently change a woman's shape or generate significant weight gain. The hormonal medications used during the process are temporary, fertility specialists say.
Some women may experience mild bloating or water retention during ovarian stimulation but these effects usually disappear within days after the egg retrieval procedure. There is no scientific evidence that egg freezing permanently changes body shape.
Another common concern is that the treatment disrupts hormones for life. Doctors say the medications simply stimulate the ovaries to mature multiple eggs in one menstrual cycle, and not one egg in a single cycle. Once the treatment cycle is over hormone levels are back to normal. Egg freezing does not result in long-term hormonal imbalance or early menopause.
There are also people who believe that freezing eggs may lower their future fertility. Medical experts say this is another misconception. During each menstrual cycle, several eggs are naturally programmed to develop and get ready to ovulate and only one of them usually reaches the point of becoming fertile and the rest are lost. Egg freezing salvages some of the eggs and does not eat into future fertility.
It does not slow down a woman's ovarian reserves.
Another popular misconception is that frozen eggs guarantee pregnancy later in life. Egg freezing is not guaranteed to guarantee success, one doctor said.
Pregnancy depends on many factors, including the age of a woman when she froze eggs; egg quality; sperm quality embryo development; and overall reproductive health. Women who freeze their eggs at a younger age generally have better chances of successful pregnancy later in life.
In fact, safety is another area where misinformation is frequently spread. Modern egg freezing is based on a state-of-the-art, rapid freezing technique called vitrification, a technique which has significantly improved egg survival rates after thawing. When performed at well-established fertility centres, it is a safe procedure and there are relatively few complications.
Fertility preservation is still very much about age, which remains one of the most important factors in fertility preservation. If a woman chooses to wait until the age of 35 if she wants to delay pregnancy for personal or medical reasons, egg freezing is recommended by experts and is generally advised if she is trying to have a child and wants to have eggs frozen at age 35 or younger, as younger eggs are more likely to produce healthy pregnancies.
Medical doctors also say women should seek information from qualified fertility specialists, not just social media rumours and anecdotal information based on misinformation and speculation.
A very specific fertility assessment, including ovarian reserve testing and prior fertility history and medical history, can help women decide if egg freezing is good for their individual circumstances.
With the growing awareness of reproductive health among women in India, awareness is overcoming stigma. Egg freezing is not a necessity for every woman but rather an important option that allows women to make informed family planning decisions based on their personal goals, not fear or misinformation.
