Without the ability to see into the future, how can you predict or know when you will be ready to have children? Understandably, many women have questions about the process or timing for egg freezing and whether it is the right option for them.

How do I know if I should freeze my eggs? At what age should I freeze my eggs? How long will my eggs last? When should I freeze my eggs?

It’s important to understand there is no right or wrong time. The younger you are, the more eggs you will be able to retrieve; the older you are, the more likely you will have a lower quantity and quality of eggs and may desire a second retrieval. If you were to freeze your eggs in your 20s, you would have the highest success rate, but you would likely end up storing them much longer or not needing them at all.

Experts Reveal Optimal Time to Freeze Eggs

There seems to be a profound misconception about the biological clock. Many women don’t realize just how much their fertility declines with age.

According to The American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the most optimal time to freeze your eggs is in your 20s and early 30s. The longer you wait, the lower your chances are of having enough high-quality eggs. As you age, your body not only produces fewer eggs, but those eggs may be of lower quality.

The best way to know the most optimal time for you personally is to set up a consultation with your doctor and discuss ovarian reserve testing, which should be completed by a reproductive endocrinologist.

Bottom Line – Egg Freezing

Fertility clinics around the country report varying rates of live birth success based on the number of eggs implanted and age of the woman, but it’s important to remember that fertility clinics don’t always reveal the number of IVF rounds that were needed or even if a pregnancy resulted in a successful birth.

Egg freezing potentially enables women to have children at a later age than would otherwise be possible and/or to wait until they have a partner to father them.  If a woman’s body responds well to the hormones that stimulate egg production and the eggs are frozen before a woman reaches her late 30s, there is a chance that some eggs will be successfully fertilized and implanted through IVF, which is a relatively safe.

The bottom line is if you don’t have premature ovarian insufficiency (loss of normal ovarian function before age 40) or other risk factors that affect your fertility, you are going to be fine until your early 30s. You don’t need to worry about freezing your eggs if you want to have one or two kids. However, if you are 25 and you want to have five children and you can’t start your family for another 10 years because you are so busy, then that is a different conversation. It should all be individualized and tailored to the patient.