Studies show Women’s attitudes to social egg freezing

Studies of women’s attitudes to ‘social egg freezing’ find that young professionals put career ahead of motherhood, while older women are still waiting for Mr. Right

Rome, Italy – Women of different ages differ in their reasons for wishing to undergo egg freezing, show two studies presented to the 26th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Monday). A large number of female university students would be prepared to undertake egg freezing in an attempt to combine career success and motherhood, said Dr. Srilatha Gorthi, a research fellow at the Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Leeds, UK, adding that her team’s research emphasised the importance of educating young women about their biological clocks in order that they could take informed decisions about future reproduction.

Dr. Gorthi surveyed 98 medical students (group A) and 97 students of education and sports studies (group B) from the University of Leeds. Information regarding egg freezing was provided, including the fact that they would have to finance their own egg freezing. The average age was 21 with age range from 18-30 years in both the groups; 63.3% of the medical students were not in a relationship, as opposed to 25.8% in group B, probably reflecting the level of commitment and time needed for their courses.

While 85.7% in group A said that they would be prepared to delay starting a family, only 49.5% in group B said they would consider this. Eight out of ten from group A said they would undergo egg collection and freezing, compared with only half as many (four out of ten) from group B. In group A, 85.3% were prepared to undergo up to three cycles of egg collection to bank enough eggs to give them a realistic chance of pregnancy. In contrast, the majority (79%) of those who would bank their eggs from group B said they would be prepared to undergo only one cycle of egg collection.

“Career considerations were given as the commonest reason to delay starting a family in group A, followed by financial stability and marriage or a stable relationship,” said Dr. Gorthi. “However, in group B, financial stability came first, followed by a stable relationship and then career reasons. We think that this is the first time that young women’s attitudes to egg freezing have been studied in this way.”

Egg freezing is still a relatively new technology; a woman has to go through an IVF treatment cycle, which takes two to four weeks and carries certain risks: ovarian hyperstimulation, haemorrhage, infection and a possible, albeit small, effect on future natural fertility. Read the rest of this entry »