Don’t want a baby now? Freeze egg

Bengaluru: Kiranmayi, 35, a teac­her, plans to opt for oocyte preservation or cypropreservation, which simply means freezing her eggs to use at a later time when she is ready to have a child.

“My family has a history of early menop­ause and so I plan to go in for cryopreservation,” she explains. Kira­n­mayi is among a growing tribe of wor­king women in the city who are opting for the procedure, according to gynaecologists and IVF specialists.

Although the concept is new to the cou­ntry, the trend appears to be catching on am­ong Benga­lureans, they say.

“Working women in the city have begun to make this smart move for a late and healthy pregnancy. Many of them want to preserve their oocytes, meaning eggs, because they don’t want to get pregnant at an early age,” says Dr Lavanya R, senior consultant, rep­r­o­d­uctive medicine, explaining that if used even in a late pregnancy the frozen eggs remain the same with no dilution of their properties, drastically cutting down the chances of a wom­an having an abnormal baby. “Women having babies at 35 or more have a high cha­nce of having abnormal babies and so freezing your egg is the best option,” she says.

Doctor Chandrika Kul­k­arni, senior consultant, reproductive medicines at Nara­yana Health, reveals she has been approached by many women over 30 who want to put off having children and see oocyte pre­s­ervation as the way out, as it does away with the risk of having abnormal bab­­­ies. “Risk of chromosome anomalies is zero in such pregnancies,” she adds.

Dr Sanjay Agarwal of Mannat Fertility Cen­tre, agrees that wo­m­en in their thirties who have a very small window for pregnancy, are incre­asingly going in for egg preservation which is a twelve day pain- free procedure. He however, warns that preservation can be dicey as well, as the eggs may or may not work as expected.

Ano­ther reason why women are beginning to opt for the procedure is fear of cancer, according to some doctors. With cancer be­ing seen among young women too, some are preferring to preserve their eggs before the therapy destroys them, say doctors.