We spoke to Helena (not her real name), a 32 year old patient who decided to undergo fertility preservation and freeze her eggs at Ovoclinic in January this year. Helena hails originally from Andalusia, but has lived and worked in Madrid for the last couple of years. She is passionate about travel, loves to live new experiences and is an avid runner. Her next challenge is to get a PR in one of most well known races in Madrid. Don’t miss this interview!
1. Fertility preservation is a subject gaining interest amongst younger women, due to its exposure in social media, television and other methods of communication. At what moment did you decide to take the step and freeze your eggs?
I have close personal experience, with a cousin who wanted to become a mother and she struggled to conceive naturally. It was the first time I had heard anyone talking about assisted reproduction and I decided to do it. It is true, that one of my motives is that these days it is getting harder to achieve work and economic stability and in my case, I saw it as “an ace up my sleeve” for my future. At this moment I don’t have any idea if I want to, or rather if I can, be a mother, but I do want to have the option, and if possible, with my own eggs.
2. A few months ago, the celebrity Jennifer Aniston made a statement in a well-known magazine that “she would have given anything for someone to have told her to freeze her eggs at a younger age”. Do you think that women need more information, to help them make decisions about freezing their eggs while they are young?
Yes, I firmly believe there is great deal of misinformation about egg freezing. In fact, I shared my experience with some of my friends and they hadn’t heard about it until that moment. I’m certain that more visibility could be given, and social media and streaming platforms are good tools for that.
3. You only finished the treatment a couple of months ago. Can you sum up your experience for us: What was the process like and how did you feel at each step?
I felt like I was accompanied during the whole process. The Ovoclinic team is made up of young women who transmit empathy and confidence. My biggest doubts came with the ovarian stimulation, in which I had to inject myself in the stomach. The nurses did the first one for me and showed me how to do it many times over. They have a Patient Care department with a WhatsApp and call service available over the weekend, and they helped me to find the medication I needed at a chemist near my house. They really made the whole process much easier, and explained everything with care and professionalism.
4. One of the advantages of egg freezing is that you can preserve them in the laboratory for as many years as you need, without them deteriorating. After going through this process, and even though the result of your treatment has been successful, would you have considered having this treatment before turning 30?
Perhaps not the treatment itself no, but I would have had a check-up, for example, have my AMH (Antimüllerian hormone) levels measured and an antral follicle count. As well as various visits to the gynaecologist for uterine check-ups, or consultations for menstrual cramps, I believe that visits to the gynaecologist should be more frequent when we are young. Even so, the age threshold is in the 30s, and this marks a before and after, both physically and mentally, in women’s decisions.
5. Freezing your eggs has been your first challenge for this new year, 2023. What are your next personal and professional projects?
By freezing my eggs I have managed to calm that part of my mind that was saying “time is running out” and after finishing this treatment, my next goal is to go for my PR in the Madrid half marathon. I also want to go for it with a professional career which I can feel passionate about. I think it is the perfect time for me to think big, given that I have the desire and energy to develop my work life and take some risks, and enjoy some more of life’s adventures before fulfilling my dream of becoming a mother.
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If you have any questions about egg freezing then you can get in touch with our specialist team and we can answer all your queries. Your initial consultation is free. 😊