For years Hollywood celebrities like Halle Berry and Gwen Stefani have appeared to defy the fact that once a woman becomes a certain age, her fertility will rapidly decline, making carrying a baby without reproductive assistance virtually impossible. Recently, with the advancement of egg freezing technology, more women who freeze, including celebrities, are talking about their decision to preserve their fertility and undergo egg freezing treatment.
Women Who Freeze: Whitney Cummings and Ellen McCarthy
The most recent is the comedian Whitney Cummings. The outgoing creator of “Two Broke Girls” began tweeting about her egg freezing procedure last year, complete with pictures of her stomach after hormone injections. Like many women, the daily shots can be unpleasant but are a necessary part of the approximately 2-week process. Cummings’ reason for choosing to undergo egg freezing treatment is similar to many women’s. She told Vanity Fair, “I feel like I was dating people just because I was on a deadline.”
Overcoming this feeling of being on a deadline to find someone to couple with and have a baby is a big factor for many professional women in their 30s. Ellen McCarthy is a Style reporter for The Washington Post and author of the recent book, “The Real Thing: Lessons on Love and Life from a Wedding Reporter’s Notebook.” She wrote in a March opinion piece that “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.” McCarthy, who served as the Post’s prestigious wedding columnist, describes the anxiety attacks in the middle of the night, scared she would never find the right person to settle down with and have a family of her own. Much like Cummings’ deadline, McCarthy describes an anxiety-inducing clock ticking that kept her up at night.
Women Who Freeze Describe Finding Peace of Mind
In December 2015, Parents.com talked to a variety of experts including Michele Purcell, R.N., the director of Shady Grove Fertility’s egg freezing program, Eric A. Widra, M.D., and Elizabeth Fino, M.D., an endocrinologist at NYU’s Langone Fertility Center. Regarding the peace of mind women gain, Dr. Fino said, “We’ve done self-reported studies, and results show that women who freeze their eggs do feel tremendous relief from societal pressures and have peace of mind.” Dr. Eric Widra adds, “Believe me, I think it’s a game-changing technology, and I’m super-enthusiastic about it, particularly for women who know they want children and want an insurance policy for the future.”
At Shady Grove Fertility, we recognize that once a woman has made the decision to freeze her eggs, questions with suitors just may result in unexpected answers, especially for the woman who isn’t sure how her date may react. In response we created Egg Freezing and Dating, advice for women wondering the best way to mention egg freezing to their dates. Here readers will find answers to questions including, “How do you bring up your decision to freeze?” and “Do you find that the people you have dated/the person you are currently dating is open to your decision to freeze?”
While there is much to learn from women who share their experiences, it’s essential for women who are considering the process to do their own research. Critical to success is finding a center like Shady Grove Fertility that has years of experience with egg freezing and hundreds of cycles and successful pregnancies under its belt. Part of self-educating includes the OAR (Ovarian Assessment Report), which we believe provides the best estimate about a woman’s current egg supply. Ninety percent of the time, women with insurance have coverage for this test. Without insurance, the full cost is $325.
The future is bright for women who are able to take control of their fertility and choose the right time for them to start a family. Click to learn more about Shady Grove Fertility’s egg freezing program or fill out this brief form or call 1-877-411-9292 to schedule a consultation.
