There are several reasons why a woman might want to put off having a child. One of the most common reasons is that she wants to focus on work and developing a stable life before giving birth. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to take some time to become a mother, but unfortunately the female body can only wait so long. If you are worried that you might not be able to conceive in the future when you are ready for it, then you may want to consider freezing your eggs.
What is Egg Freezing?
The process of egg freezing, also called mature oocyte cryopreservation, is when eggs are frozen to preserve a woman's ability to get pregnant and start a family later in life. Eggs are harvested from the cervix, frozen in their unfertilized state, and stored for use later. Frozen eggs can be used, combined with sperm in a lab, and then implanted into the uterus (in-vitro fertilization) to trigger pregnancy.
Why Freeze your Eggs?
Freezing your eggs is something to consider if you aren’t ready to become pregnant right now but you want to ensure you have the chance to in the future.
You may want to consider egg freezing if:
- There are circumstances – such as health conditions – that affect your ability to get pregnant
- You need to get treatment for cancer or another kind of treatment that can affect your ability to get pregnant
- You are participating in in-vitro fertilization
- You want to preserve eggs for future use
Egg Freezing in San Diego
San Diego has a great deal of choice for fertility cryopreservation. Below are some options available to you:
1. San Diego Fertility Center
San Diego Fertility Center offers egg freezing to patients. Their friendly team can answer all of your questions about egg freezing including the entire process and whether or not egg freezing would be right for you. The process is fairly smooth and easy to do and San Diego Fertility Center works around your schedule.
Everything begins with a consultation with a friendly physician and a fertility test. There’s also a nursing consultation and some treatments – such as an ultrasound – before the eggs are retrieved and stored. For more information click here.
2. Reproductive Sciences Medical Center
Reproductive Sciences Medical Center follows a fairly similar process. The team uses hormone injections to stimulate the uterus to produce more eggs than usual for the best results. The eggs are removed through trans-vaginal oocyte retrieval before being frozen. Eggs are dehydrated before freezing to prevent the water present in the eggs from freezing and damaging egg integrity. Don’t worry, this won’t affect the egg or reduce the chances of fertilization in the future. For more information click here.
3. Fertility Specialists Medical Group
Fertility Specialists Medical Group uses the vitrification process to freeze eggs and embryos. The process is a flash-freeze where cells are bathed in cryoprotectant and then rapidly cooled to -320 degrees Fahrenheit using liquid nitrogen. This offers the lowest chance of crystal formation (ice crystals can damage eggs) and is the industry standard used by San Diego Fertility Center, Reproductive Sciences Medical Center, and every other fertility clinic worth their money. For more information click here.
Get Started with Egg Freezing Today
There are lots of different reasons you might want to freeze your eggs. From undergoing treatments that impair fertility to just wanting to give yourself the chance to get pregnant later, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a fertility clinic in San Diego to learn more and begin the egg freezing process.