What's the Ideal Age to Freeze Your Eggs?

Many women are choosing to postpone having children until they’re older. But they don’t want to risk infertility as they age. 

The future can be uncertain, but egg freezing puts you in control of your fertility, providing an alternative if or when you need it. Regardless of why you’re freezing your eggs, it’s essential to understand the process and find a certified and trustworthy provider. 

Our fertility experts can help. University Reproductive Associates has offices in Hasbrouck Heights, Wayne, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and we can help you plan your future and find the best time to freeze your eggs for when you are ready to think about starting a family.

How egg freezing works 

While extracting eggs, fertilizing them, and freezing the resulting embryos allow women and couples to postpone having a baby until they’re ready, some women aren’t comfortable using a sperm donor or boyfriend to fertilize their eggs. With egg freezing, you can maintain control of your own reproductive options and fertilize later. 

Mature oocyte cryopreservation is a method used to harvest eggs from the ovaries and preserve them. The high water content of human eggs makes them impossible to freeze without the formation of ice crystals. However, with a special process known as vitrification, the water-like substances within the egg are quickly transitioned from liquid to solid, maintaining the fertility of the egg. 

That is a significant step forward for fertility treatments and another way women can gain autonomy over their bodies and futures. With egg freezing, there’s no pressure to find a donor or partner before you’re ready, and you can save your eggs until you’re ready to begin IVF. 

The best time for egg freezing

Your egg quality is at its peak when you are in your twenties and thirties. Your hormones are also more predictable and easier to manipulate, making it easier to trigger your ovaries into maturing and releasing more eggs for collection during this time. 

If you don’t want kids now but have plans for pregnancy sometime in your future, making the choice now to freeze your eggs can provide several advantages, including:

You’ll have a safeguard against potential fertility issues

Your eggs will be safe in case something happens with your fertility. Treatments for thyroid conditions or cancer can often damage your eggs or reproductive organs, making it more difficult to conceive later in life. Freezing your eggs allows you to get pregnant even after fertility challenges.

Your egg quality will be preserved

Freezing eggs in your twenties can mean getting pregnant in your thirties with a healthier egg. That is perfect for women who know they want kids but want to stabilize their lives and careers before making the big move. Important note: eggs kept frozen for more than ten years can start to degrade, so if you plan on waiting until your forties to have a kid, consider freezing your eggs once you’re past thirty.

You don’t have to choose the sperm donor right now

Freezing embryos ties you to either someone you know or an anonymous donor, possibly before you’re ready. With egg freezing, you can postpone fertilization until you are sure who you want to co-parent your child, or whether you need a co-parent at all. 

Think freezing eggs could be right for you? Learn more by speaking with our specialists at University Reproductive Associates. To schedule a consultation, just call 201-288-6330 or visit the contact page for more information.