On April 2, 2015, The Washington Post, published an article about egg freezing from the perspective of one of its very own reporters, Ellen McCarthy. In the article, Freezing my eggs restored my sanity, Ellen openly discusses her decision to freeze her eggs—and why. Her reason for freezing being far from what is portrayed in many news articles and stories:
Apple’s and Facebook’s announcements that they will pay for employees to freeze their eggs have provoked a lot of hand-wringing about women and careers and having-not-having-it-all. But for me, the decision to put my fertility on ice had nothing to do with professional ambition or putting off motherhood. It was a quest to preserve my sanity.
Ellen describes the onset of panic when she realized time was slipping by and she didn’t have the life-partner she had always envisioned, and therefore the family she always dreamed of. Panic set in and took over, impacting many areas of her life—leaving her feeling out of control. Freezing her eggs restored her sanity, the ability to take life as it comes, and find the right life-partner. She encourages single women to do whatever it takes to find this sanity, for her, it just happened that it was egg freezing.
The problem wasn’t just that I wanted to find a life partner—something I’d always envisioned—it was that I felt I needed to find him immediately. Because, of course, the clock was ticking! Thirty was far from old, but I was forever doing the mental math: Even if I meet the right guy today, a couple of years of dating, plus an engagement period and a little time being married means I’ll be in my mid-30s by the time I even start trying to conceive.
Many of our patients express similar reasons for freezing, and the same feeling of panic that strikes. Read how she made the decision, how she reached out to family to pay for it, and what she recommends single women do if they are worried about the future.
Click here to read the full article.
