Sydney fashion stylist Lydia-Jane Saunders has always wanted to be a mother.
But when the 35-year-old split from her fiancé two years ago, she decided to take control and secure her future dreams of having a child.
‘My fiancé at the time and I decided to call off our wedding as he changed his mind about wanting more children, as he already had a beautiful daughter,’ says Ms Saunders, who is now 37.
‘Not having children was not an option for me so we parted ways.
‘With the clock ticking, I decided to buy some time and freeze my eggs,’ she tells FEMAIL.
Ms Saunders is just one of many women over the age of 30 who are freezing their eggs to beat the biological clock and increase their chances of conceiving at a later date when natural conception would be unlikely.
The fact is the quality and quantity of a woman’s egg supply begins to deteriorate after the age of 30. At the height of fertility in a woman’s early 20s she has just a 25 per cent chance of getting pregnant naturally each month, but this decreases with time.
However, the storing of a woman’s unfertilised eggs is not an inexpensive or simple procedure to undergo.
Ms Saunders said she spent about $11,000 on the egg vitrification process after a friend recommended it.
‘The process is hard, time consuming and painful but 100 per cent worth it,’ says Ms Saunders.
‘Physically I was bloated and tired. I also had strange cravings like you would when you are pregnant.
‘For me the emotional part was the worst, but I am sure that had more to do with why I was doing it rather than the actual process,’ she adds.
According to fertility specialist, Dr Devora Lieberman many women are forced to postpone having children because of career commitments, rising costs of living and not finding the right partner.
‘Over the past few years, we’ve noticed an increase in the number of women who know they want a family in the future so want to take control of their fertility today,’ she says.
‘These women want a different environment to our IVF patients.’
This week, the nation’s first dedicated egg freezing clinic opened to women who are considering their future fertility options.
Dr Lieberman says Genea Horizon, a sister clinic to Genea Fertility launched in response to the increased uptake of egg preservation treatment.
As age is a key factor in a woman’s ability to conceive, Dr Lieberman says young women should consider if children are a part of their future sooner rather than later.
‘Although egg freezing doesn’t guarantee a baby and is not an insurance policy, our patients want to take control of their fertility, they want to feel empowered,’ she says.
‘Egg freezing provides many with a sense that they are doing all they can, investing in themselves and ensuring that when they are ready to have children, they are confident they considered all the options available to them at an earlier age.’
However, most women who undergo the process of egg freezing, don’t use them.
‘We only have about 10 per cent of women who come back for their eggs,’ Dr Lieberman says.
‘If you are going to say, “well at least I gave myself the very best chance” and you’re satisfied with that, than this process is for you,’ she tells FEMAIL.
Genea is now in negotiations with a few Australian companies that plan on developing an initiative to compensate female employees for the cost of freezing their eggs.
The hope is that it would possibly allow women to focus on their career with that company without feeling the pressure to have a family at an earlier age. It’s a move already adopted by global companies including Facebook and Apple.
‘I think it’s great if a company offers egg freezing as part of a whole comprehensive HR practice of supporting women, men and families; and work-life balance,’ Dr Lieberman says.
