Egg Freezing and Single Motherhood

Over the years, women have received mixed messages about careers and family planning. In past decades, women were taught that the home was their domain. Today, society encourages women to juggle both career and family duties. This can be difficult, partially because fertility has a shelf life. To help, our Manhattan Beach fertility center offers treatments that allow women to explore their family-building options, including egg freezing and single motherhood.

Understanding female fertility basics

While men continue to make sperm throughout their lives, women are born with all the eggs they will ever have. At puberty, a woman begins to have regular menstrual cycles. The body releases one egg each month in anticipation of fertilization. As women age, their egg quality and quantity decline. In fact, female fertility peaks in a woman’s 20s. By age 40, women only have about a 5% chance of conceiving without any assistance. As a result, more women are considering egg freezing and single motherhood.

For years, our Manhattan Beach fertility center has offered sperm and embryo freezing to our patients. Early attempts at egg freezing weren’t successful, because the fragile eggs typically did not survive the thawing process. However, with vitrification, a fast-freezing process, eggs are less susceptible to damage during thawing today. As a result, women can preserve their eggs and have a baby when they’re ready.

Moving forward with egg freezing and single motherhood

To begin the process of egg freezing, patients will start with a full fertility evaluation. Your doctor will use the results to determine whether any underlying issues exist before beginning treatment. Then, patients will undergo four to six weeks of hormone injections to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Once the eggs mature, your doctor will remove them during an outpatient egg retrieval procedure. After the retrieval, our embryologists will analyze the eggs. They will then freeze and store the healthy eggs until you are ready to fertilize them with donor sperm and begin your journey to single motherhood.

When you visit our Manhattan Beach fertility center, we provide the comprehensive medical care you need and the support you deserve. At Innovative Fertility Center, your doctor will review your specific situation and help you determine the best option for family planning, now or in the future. If you want more information on egg freezing and single motherhood, contact our office to schedule a consultation.