Many women who are healthy and active are presenting to fertility clinics in their late thirties and early forties, only to be faced with infertility challenges. Their main complaint is the lack of education which might have helped them make better parenting choices when they were still young and fertile.
Mandy Rodrigues, Clinical Psychologist, Life Coach
The world has become more about choice. Modern society encourages our children to be empowered. Women have entered the corporate world with a vengeance. They are functioning faster and better. They are making more informed choices. However, balancing personal and professional aspirations can wreak havoc with our parenting decisions. From the moment we are born, we are socialised to value children for different reasons. Even though the value of becoming a parent has changed, the one given that has remained constant is the belief that all living things can procreate. The human race was created to replicate itself, even during times of severe destitution, wars and plagues. Whether or not we are socialised as young girls to play with dolls, we are not prepared for the possibility that we may not be fertile; that as an individual, we might not have that very fundamental biological given. Stereotypically, we are prescribed roles by society and ourselves, which consist of certain expectations and developmental stages. Whether or not we subscribe to these roles, we at least believe we have a choice. As we get to puberty, we are taught to avoid unwanted pregnancies. We are given sex education, the opportunity to use barriers to pregnancy such as contraceptives and condoms, and encouraged to avoid promiscuous lifestyles. We are rarely taught about reproductive health or infertility as a possibility.
Coupled with this is the fast-growing field of medical science, specifically in the field of assisted reproductive medicine. By 2040, according to Professor Henry Greely of Stanford University, half of couples in the world will stop reproducing naturally. However, these advancements have still not found a way to stop eggs from ageing. We are born with a finite number of eggs, and these are depleted every month and age. Lifestyle factors such as stress, diet and age impact on eggs and sperm.
The advancements in assisted reproductive technologies have not only provided women with more options and control over their fertility but allowed them to delay parenthood to pursue other aspects of their lives such as careers. One imagines that science and medicine has progressed rapidly enough to develop technology to help us with this most basic function of reproduction. When our basic fundamental biological drive of being able to procreate is no longer a choice, this is where we struggle.
Women are realising this too late. This leaves them with a huge sense of helplessness. Organisations want to keep their intellectual capital. One way to do this is to educate women on the options of fertility preservation or more specifically, egg freezing.
Egg preservation, also known as oocyte cryopreservation, is the process of freezing a woman’s eggs for future use. It can be a helpful option for women who wish to preserve their fertility due to various reasons, such as medical conditions, career goals, or personal choices. Egg preservation involves a multi-step process:
- Consultation − Consult with a fertility specialist who will assess the individual’s current egg count and quality via a blood test. This consultation does not require a referral. There are numerous accredited clinics in South Africa.
- Ovarian stimulation − Hormone injection the chances of successfully harvesting multiple eggs for a couple of weeks. This stimulates the ovaries and promotes the development of multiple mature eggs.
- Egg retrieval − Once the eggs are deemed mature, a procedure called transvaginal ultrasound-guided egg retrieval is performed. A thin needle is inserted into the ovaries through the vaginal wall and the mature eggs are aspirated.
- Freezing − The eggs are then quickly frozen using a process called vitrification, which involves rapidly cooling the eggs in a cryoprotectant solution.
- Storage − The frozen eggs are then safely stored in specialised cryopreservation tanks for many years.
When the time is right, the eggs are thawed, fertilised with sperm and transferred to the woman’s uterus for a chance at pregnancy. It’s important to note that the process can vary slightly depending on individual circumstances, but it does give one the choice of peace of mind. Consulting with a fertility specialist is the best way to get personalised guidance and accurate information tailored to your situation. Egg freezing is not necessarily a guarantee of a healthy baby, but it does give peace of mind. It would be unethical not to educate women that this is an option, and the younger, the better.
Companies would be doing the ethical thing to at least educate women about this option. Some international companies like Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft offer fertility preservation as part of their employee benefits package, covering a portion or all of the associated costs. These policies aim to support individuals in their family planning and provide more flexibility in their career paths. By doing so, one if contributing to a more empowered and informed generation of women in the corporate world.
Author
Mandy Rodrigues, Clinical Psychologist, Life Coach
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