Novel tool helps women answer the question: "How many eggs should I freeze?"

via smartfertilitychoices.com

"The American Society for Reproductive Medicine lifted the experimental status for egg freezing in October 2012, and since then the popularity of elective egg freezing has been on the rise. Although primarily intended for women whose fertility may be in jeopardy due to treatment for cancer or other illnesses, egg freezing has become an attractive option for women who are electively delaying childbearing for a variety of reasons. But, because this option is relatively new, and the majority of women who have frozen their eggs have not yet returned to use them, the likelihood of a frozen egg resulting in a healthy baby is largely unknown.

Furthermore, freezing eggs can be costly. While some of the largest tech companies have offered egg-freezing as a benefit, the majority of women face out-of-pocket costs that climb upward of $6,000, excluding medications, for one egg-freezing cycle that, depending on personal characteristics, results in a variable number of eggs suitable for freezing. Also not known: how many frozen eggs are necessary to have a child in the future? What if the woman would like to have more than one child? These questions often leave a woman unsure of whether she should repeat a cycle in order to store more eggs and potentially increase her future chances of having a baby.

To address these issues, researchers led by Janis H. Fox, MD, an attending reproductive endocrinologist in the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, have developed a novel, personalized model to guide the conversation between a woman and her physician."We wanted to create a tool that is evidence-based in order to provide the best possible guidance for our patients, who are making big decisions about their lives, their families, and their finances," said Fox, who is also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and senior author of the paper describing this new model, published in Human Reproduction on February 6, 2017..."

Learn more:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170207142731.htm