Egg freezing

Have you gotten to read “The ‘Big Lie’ in Putting Off Pregnancy” on CNN today?

Wendy Sachs, author of “How She Really Does It: Secrets of Successful Stay-at-Work Moms”  shares insight about what delaying pregnancy and discusses Tanya Selvaratnam’s new book, “The Big Lie: Motherhood, Feminism and the Reality of the Biological Clock.”

In The Big Lie, Selvaratnam argues that feminism has misled women about their fertility. Isaac E. Sasson, M.D., Ph.D. suggests, “I think Gen-X women have indeed been misled by societal changes that occurred in the previous generation. The message that women ‘can have it all’ is correct but comes with many caveats with regards to fertility.”

At a time when the number of women in her early 40s who remain childless has doubled since 1975, there needs to be education about when and at what rate a woman’s fertility will decline. “It becomes exceedingly difficulty and expensive to achieve a healthy pregnancy and delivery after 40 years old. Very often, women in their late 30s and certainly over 40 require fertility treatment to build a family. Furthermore, at that age, there is no guarantee for success.  When we see photos of celebrities in their 40s with newborns, we are exposed to a bias that we think everyone will be successful. Unfortunately, we don’t see pictures of all of the women that were unable to achieve success,” explains Dr. Sasson.

Dr. Isaac Sasson continues to say, “Just as women are proactive in their professional lives, they also need to be proactive in taking control of their reproductive options. The improvements and expansion of birth control options in the 70’s and 80’s have truly liberated women to achieve success in the workplace. But this has come as a double-edged sword, with the cost being an increase in couples challenged by infertility.”

As men and women experience and treat infertility, particularly an increase in donor egg treatment, it becomes an obvious that there needs to be more conversation about not only one’s fertility potential but ways to preserve fertility. Dr. Sasson suggests, “Egg freezing will further empower women to have it all and achieve their professional goals while providing them a level of security when it comes to having children at a later date.”

To learn more about your fertility options or to schedule an appointment at Shady Grove Fertility, please speak with one of our New Patient Liaisons at 877-971-7755.

In 2012, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) lifted the ‘experimental’ label on egg freezing, citing that pregnancy outcomes from frozen eggs was similar to that of non-frozen eggs or embryos when using IVF treatment to conceive. Recently, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) put out a statement that it did not recommend use egg freezing to pause their biological clock. Leaving many to wonder, should women freeze their eggs?

WJLA – ABC7 shares the story of Melanie, who decided to freeze her eggs to preserve her chances of having a family at a later time. While Melanie wants to meet Mr. Right and have a family the old-fashioned way, having eggs frozen gives her comfort in knowing she will have options for years to come. Read Melanie’s Story

Should Women Freeze Their Eggs?

Advanced Technology at Shady Grove Fertility Leads to Increased Reliability and Better Results for Egg Freezing

Vitrification is an ultra-rapid freezing process that preserves eggs for future use. This technology which has been tested and now used on a regular basis at many fertility centers demonstrates strong survival, fertilization, and embryotic development rates after thawing.

Over the past several years, Shady Grove Fertility has been successful in egg freezing by vitrification using donor eggs, women about to undergo medical therapies that may compromise their fertility, as well as women looking to freeze their eggs to preserve their future fertility for social or financial reasons.

Based on the pregnancy success rates of vitrification used for these treatment options, Shady Grove Fertility now is able to offer treatment and financial programs for women interested in egg freezing, potentially saving over 50% on treatment.

Lowering the Cost of Egg Freezing

Shady Grove Fertility introduces Assure Fertility, a revolutionary financial program for egg freezing. Assure Fertility is the only program of its kind offering women up to 4 rounds of treatment or 20 high-quality eggs to freeze for 1 fixed cost. This program minimizes uncertainty while increasing the chances of a woman achieving pregnancy in the future, using her own eggs.

What is Egg Freezing?

Egg freezing is an option for women in their early to mid-30s as a way to preserve their fertility for future use. Originally, egg freezing was specifically used by women undergoing any form of chemotherapy, family history of premature ovarian failure or early menopause. Today, more women are able to access this treatment to freeze their eggs for any number of social or economic reasons.

Of course, even though egg freezing is a viable treatment option, similar to anyone undergoing fertility treatment, it is not ideal. Women, like Shady Grove Fertility Patient, Melanie, would rather be living their dreams of being happily married and starting their families naturally.

Melanie’s Story

I thought I had it all – a growing career, wonderful friends, and a great guy who became my husband. But unfortunately, my fairy tale wasn’t meant to be, at least not how I had originally envisioned it. At 34, I found myself going through a divorce and left thinking about when I would ever have children.

I knew I was young and according to the biological clock, I should still had time to start a family. However, to start dating… meet a guy… date for a couple years… get engaged and plan a wedding. More quickly than I would care to admit, I would be in my late-30s or early-40s and just starting to grow a family. And coming right out of the divorce, I wasn’t ready to rush into a relationship, let alone a serious relationship. On top of that, I didn’t want my future partner to feel the pressure to move faster than we would otherwise because of my ticking clock.

When the option to freeze my eggs became available, I thought it was going to be awhile until I was ready to start a family.  It wasn’t an easy decision because I was living in the moment so much and found it difficult to think about the bigger picture. With everything going on with the divorce, it wasn’t easy adding another thing to my plate and even more difficult thinking about saving my eggs for future use.

My girlfriends knew I was considering freezing my eggs and it was from them that I received the best advice. Two of my friends in particular were in their second marriages, in their mid-40s, and unable to conceive on their own. They were both going through donor egg cycles to build their families – it was their only option. It was then I realized that I still had a choice. I knew I wanted to have a family one day, so given the option I would rather use my own eggs – and freezing my eggs now became a no brainer.

My hope is, just like anyone else, that I find a partner/husband and try the natural way to get pregnant first.  I view my frozen eggs as an insurance policy in case “plan A” doesn’t work. Dating isn’t easy and I still have a clear picture of what I’m looking for in regards to a family. But my decision to freeze my eggs has put the pressure of the biological clock on hold. I don’t have to rush into anything I’m not ready for and I can take my time finding “the one.” Looking back I’m so glad I did it!  It feels empowering to take this part of my life into my own hands.

WJLA – ABC7 Shares Melanie’s Story

This evening on WJLA – ABC7 in Washington, DC, Melanie shares her story. Discussing why she knew freezing her eggs was the right choice. Also interviewed is Shady Grove Fertility’s Dr. Joseph Doyle. Tune in tonight at 5pm to ABC7.

If you are ready to schedule an appointment at Shady Grove Fertility, please speak with one of our New Patient Liaisons at 877-971-7755.

Fertility Preservation: What Technologies Do Women Have to Protect Their Fertility?

Naveed Khan, MD was interviewed by Prathima Setty, MD on fertility preservation options for women. From readily available treatment options such as embryo freezing and egg freezing, to ones still in the research stage, such as ovarian tissue freezing, Dr. Khan explains the various technologies and candidates for these fertility preservation options.

• Listen to the Fertility Preservation interview on iHeart Radio

Egg and embryo freezing are viable options for women who would like to preserve their current fertility for the future. The first baby born using frozen eggs was in 1986 and since then, technology has greatly improved. With improved technology, success rates of using frozen eggs and embryos have improved.  According to Dr. Khan, “As a leader in the field, we have done over 100 egg banking cycles over the past two years and we have about a 90 percent egg survival rate and a 50 percent pregnancy rate, which is equal to IVF cycle success rates. The technology is revolutionary.”

If you would like to learn more about fertility preservation or are ready to schedule an appointment at Shady Grove Fertility, please speak with one of our New Patient Liaisons at 877-971-7755.

contributed by Dr. Howard McClamrock

What is Egg Banking?

The term egg banking – or fertility preservation – is the process in which women not yet ready to have children, freeze their eggs for future family building. Many women delay family building while seeking a life partner or due to educational, career or economic considerations. Based on the age related decline in fertility, this delay may increase the risks of infertility or pregnancy complications at a later time. Freezing of oocytes (or eggs) at a younger age may, in effect, put the eggs in “suspended animation” until the woman is ready for conception. While the natural decline in reproductive potential will continue, egg banking can provide an insurance against the ticking biologic clock and the loss of reproductive potential. Like an insurance policy, it may provide peace of mind, even if the eggs are not needed.

Medical technology has allowed the successful freezing of sperm for many years and embryo freezing has also been successful for nearly 30 years. Unfortunately, egg freezing had limited success until a recent breakthrough using a flash freezing technique known as vitrification.  Previously considered experimental, this new process has now been shown to have similar success to embryo freezing when performed by experienced fertility centers. This prompted the American Society for Reproductive Medicine to remove the experimental label from egg freezing, considering this technology to be a mainstream treatment.

The eggs may be stored for an indefinite period of time and may be thawed, fertilized and transferred for pregnancy when the time is right.

Who Should Consider Egg Banking?

This technology is best suited for women ages 30-40, with the ideal age range between 32 and 37 years old to achieve optimal egg quality. Egg banking is designed for women who wish to delay childbearing for social, economic, educational or professional reasons.

Some women may consider this process as a way to delay the birth of another child without risking a decline in fertility.

How to Get Started with Egg Banking?

Simply give us a call. You can reach us toll free from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada at 877-411-9292 or go to CenterforFertilityPreservation.com or ShadyGroveFertility.com  Entry into the program will start with a consultation visit to one of our facilities. If you are out of the greater Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Washington, DC metro areas, a telephone consultation may be schedule with one of our fertility specialists.  Your treatment may start soon thereafter.

How Long Does Egg Banking Take?

From the time of your initial consultation at Shady Grove Fertility, the process of evaluation, ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval and egg cryopreservation may take as little as 5-6 weeks, depending on when in your menstrual cycle that initial visit takes place. Most of the appointments can be early in the morning allowing one to make it to the workplace on time. It is necessary to be take off from work or school only on the day of egg harvest.

What is the Cost of Egg Banking?

A global fee of $7,500 will cover the services for one cycle of ovarian stimulation, monitoring, egg retrieval and egg freezing, plus the first year of egg storage.  It is recommended that 15-20 eggs be stored if possible.  After the first year, storage fees are $500 per year. Medication costs average $2000 per stimulation cycle.

Many insurance policies cover consultation and pre-screening costs and some cover part of the medications. If there is no insurance coverage, Shady Grove Fertility will provide the consultation and pre-screening procedures performed at our center for $300.

A financing option for fertility preservation is available through www.FertilityFinance.net, an experienced group with whom we have worked extensively, whose mission is to provide fair financing for fertility related procedures.

If you have questions about your fertility or are ready to schedule an appointment at Shady Grove Fertility, please speak with one of our New Patient Liaisons at 877-411-9292.

Dr. Howard McClamrock is available for new patient consultations in Baltimore Harbor and Glen Burnie, MD.