Egg Freezing: Should I Do It?

At 35, health professionals declare a pregnant woman to be of advanced maternal age, formerly known as a geriatric pregnancy… ouch. Of course, I recognize that medically the later in life you wait, the greater the risk is for complications to arise. But the impetus behind such language is that by waiting until your mid thirties you’re somehow behind in the game of life. With almost a decade personally until that biological doomsday is upon me, I figured I had plenty of time to let life sort itself out in that department. I’ll just kick that can down the road and worry about it when it’s a bit more pressing, I told myself.

That is until my most beloved podcast, Armchair Expert (AE), came out with a new show under their Spotify umbrella called Race to 35. The show followed regular co-host to AE, Monica Padman, and best-selling author and journalist, Liz Plank, on their journey to freeze their eggs before they turned 35; a race not against each other, but their biological clocks. 

Initially, I was hesitant to add yet another episode to my daily rotation (there’s already quite a lineup), but I knew I’d come to enjoy all of the other Armchair spin offs and, admittedly, figured I could stand to learn quite a bit in this arena as well. Fast forward 10 weeks and boy did I have a lot to reconsider. 

Liz and Monica shared everything. From recording themselves while they administered their shots, to discussing the bodily changes they experienced, to interviewing doctors and women who had gone through the procedure themselves. It was incredibly raw, informative, and brought a lot of questions into my own life. 

Both being entrepreneurial, thoughtful, driven women who, up until that point in their life had yet to settle down with the right partner, I felt a surprising sense of kinship towards them – strange given that I only knew them by their voices through my headphones. Perhaps it was their candidness that felt like an outstretched hand? During one episode I remember Liz commenting that she felt incredibly empowered by making this decision and creating a fertility safety net for herself, but simultaneously ashamed, unloveable, and broken from having to resort to this cold, clinical procedure. 

There’s so many things to consider, all the time, that come with such mental fatigue. I mean seriously! Another thing to worry about? It feels like if you’re succeeding in one area you’re failing in another – you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Each week after listening to an episode I found my heart rate on the rise, big thoughts jumbled around in my head. Should I do this? If I can create this insurance policy for myself now, would it be imprudent for me not to? 

My very dear friend also listened to the show and whenever one of us finished an episode, a series of rapid fire Microsoft Teams messages would be fired off. 

     “Did you listen to today’s ep? I had no idea you weren’t even guaranteed success after.”

     “If you had a low egg count would you do it again?”

     “What if you found out you had the genetic blood thing Liz had? Factor V Leiden or something?”

It was incredible how new so much of the information was being presented. I paid attention in health classes and I’m a naturally curious person, but I hadn’t the slightest clue as to what went on in this process; the risks, the cost, and the emotion that went into it all. It gave me a lot to consider and I feel like it’s an option that should be much more widely discussed. Choose to freeze your eggs or not, everyone should be presented with the information to be able to make an informed decision about their own health. 

Otherwise I might decide when it’s too late, or when my chances of success are much lower. Who knows, 26 year old Erin could be sitting on some fine looking eggs and plump follicles, and there’s no guarantee they’ll still be there whenever the family planning time is right.

I love the chance to learn new things and I enjoy finding ways to set myself up for success and fulfillment. While I’d love it if I never had to be in the position to decide whether or not I should freeze my eggs, that’s just not my reality. I’m enjoying my life as it is. Being able to take certain risks, not have the responsibility of another person’s life on my hands, and more time to work out my own baggage and *ehem* issues before I pass them on to my kid. Science is cool. Having choice is power. Being able to use time as an asset is a gift.