Married couples and many single women dream of “wanting to have children” but lack of readiness is the main reason they cannot fulfill this dream. With careers that are just taking off or some waiting to have higher income and more stable jobs, these things require time, which Dr. Yaowapha Jongbunsuklert, Head of the Infertility Treatment Center and Women’s Health Center at Phyathai 3 Hospital, says that increasing age becomes a limitation to egg quality… because when you are ready, your eggs may not be ready.
Increasing age affects egg quality
Dr. Yaowapha explains that as women age, their ovaries produce fewer eggs, which is one cause of infertility. Due to limitations in career, financial status, and other readiness factors, women may not be able to conceive when their bodies are ready. But waiting without knowing when you will be ready means that by the time you realize it, you may not be able to conceive because of fewer and less healthy eggs. This makes “egg freezing” a choice for modern families to have healthy eggs for pregnancy when the time is right.
Egg freezing is available for single women and couples
It is not necessary to have a spouse to undergo egg freezing. Single women who have not found a life partner but want to have children in the future can consult a doctor to start the process. The procedure begins with a medical history review, health check, and daily ovarian stimulation injections for 8-10 days to mature the eggs for retrieval.
Once the eggs are mature, the doctor will retrieve and freeze them under conditions that preserve their quality until the desired time for pregnancy. The eggs can then be fertilized with sperm and the embryos transferred into the uterus immediately.
Choose when to conceive… couples decide
In cases where couples are not yet ready to conceive but still want children, “embryo freezing” may be the answer for future family planning. The doctor will fertilize the eggs with sperm to create embryos and then freeze them. When the couple is ready, the embryos can be transferred into the uterus at the appropriate time.
This method is suitable for couples concerned about birth defects as the mother ages but are not ready to conceive now. They can undergo this treatment and transfer the embryos back into the uterus when desired.
Is it expensive?
Egg freezing is a process with relatively high costs compared to natural conception. However, remember that egg freezing is like stopping time to wait for readiness and the right moment. Because as we age, no matter how much money we have, we cannot turn back time to have healthy eggs like in the past.
Dr. Yaowapha Jongbunsuklert
Head of the Infertility Treatment Center and Women’s Health Center
Phyathai 3 Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department
Tel. 1772 or 0-2467-1111 ext. 3266, 3267
