Seven News The best age to freeze eggs, and when to consider using IVF or donors

The best age to freeze eggs, and when to consider using IVF or donors

Seven News

The worldwide trend of ‘older mums’ is continuing as we see an increase in women using donors to become solo mums.

Once a hushed conversation in doctor’s offices, fertility used to be a taboo topic.

But with celebs like Brooke Shields, Mark Zuckerberg and celebrity sweethearts John Legend and Chrissy Teigan publicly sharing their own problems and struggles to conceive, the conversation is opening up.

Late last year, Aussie singer Natalie Imbruglia delivered the good news that she had welcomed her son Max into the world.

At 44, the singer became a first-time mum, a trend we’re continuing to see more and more of.

“I think the celebrities now are coming out about how they’re achieving their pregnancies,” said fertility experts Dr Devora Lieberman.

“We’ve certainly been seeing an increase in single women having families on their own for quite a number of years now. It’s a very rapidly growing group of women.

“I think it’s important to plan for it – so if you want children, make sure you have a backup plan if it doesn’t happen by a certain age. Male fertility also declines over time, so it’s an important consideration for men as well.”

When to freeze your eggs

The number of women accessing egg freezing services is also soaring – and the average age of women who choose to freeze their eggs has dropped from 38 to 36 in the three years between 2015 and 2018.

the daily edition the younger the better

The daily edition the younger the better

“Around the world, less than 10 per cent of women who freeze eggs come back and use them,” Lieberman said.

“Now with the cost of egg freezing coming down in Australia, women are coming to see me when they’re younger now.

“But if you’re 30-years-old and single, it’s probably the last thing on your mind.

“The challenge is if you freeze your eggs too young, you’re less likely to need them because you have more time to find a partner and it also means you’ll have more years of paying storage fees.

“If you freeze them too late, then they’re probably not going to work – so the sweet spot is probably somewhere between age 30 to 35.”

Egg and sperm donors

Two years ago, 700 women became solo mums via sperm donors and IVF in Victoria alone – and the global fertility services market is expected to double by 2026, becoming a $61 billion industry.

“Egg donation in Australia is a bit challenging because unlike the US you can’t pay women to donate their eggs,” Lieberman said.

“But we’re certainly seeing more options available with overseas clinics, and people bringing in frozen eggs from overseas, so that’s certainly happening more and more.”

When should you try IVF?

“The general rule of thumb is if you’re under 35, and you haven’t fallen pregnant after a year of trying, then you should seek help,” Lieberman said.

“But even after six months, it’s reasonable to do some inexpensive testing or talk to your doctor. Make sure there’s nothing obvious getting in the way of getting pregnant.

“You can certainly diet and exercise your way out of fertility – so you can be too fat or too thin. But if you’re reasonably healthy, getting healthier won’t improve your fertility.”

Watch the full interview on Seven News The Daily Edition: The Future of Fertility