Pno matter how strong the desire is, not everyone has the opportunity to become a mother. Economic and professional problems, but also not having met the right person, very often postpone the pregnancy further, putting fertility at risk. With gods risks both on the difficulty in conceiving itself and on the health of the child. However, not everyone is aware of the Social Time Freezing, a technique that allows you to “set aside” your eggs at their maximum reproductivity.
Fertility, when motherhood is moved further and further
The data presented at the end of last year by the Ministry of Health photograph a very clear situation regarding motherhood: in Italy about 34.4% of women give birth after the age of 35, the highest percentage compared to the rest of Europe. Not only that, if on the continent 7% give birth over 40 in our country the result rises to 8.8%.
Behind many reasons, work, economic and couple relationships that cause the productive age to slip forward, which often exceeds 35, putting fertility at risk: «Science, however, tells us that the maximum of fertility is expressed around 25 years, but remains quite good from 25 to 35 years” explains Elisabetta Colonese, specialist in Gynecology and contact person of the Mustela portal.
What happens after the age of 35? «The quality and quantity of oocytes is drastically reduced. For a matter of nature. So much so that in Italy the average age of menopause is around 52 years old.
So it is understandable that a woman who decides to procreate at the age of 40 will already have eggs that have completed 3/4 of their life, in terms of quality and quantity. So the reproductive task becomes much more complex».
The age of first maternity rises: information on cryopreservation techniques
Turning 35 represents a bit of a turning point for female procreation. In fact, if up to this age the chance of getting pregnant is one in four, as the expert explains, the more the age goes up the more the difficulties of getting pregnant will be greater. And, in addition to conception, there are also problems of spontaneous abortion and possible genetic diseases.
So what did this situation lead to? «When necessary, inform about the existence of cutting-edge techniques which, thanks to the support of reproductive specialists, also allow you to preserve and protect your fertility and reproductive potential in advance. Among many, there is the Social Time Freezing, a not new but little known technique that allows you to freeze your own eggs».
Social Time Freezing, or the elective freezing of oocytes
This technique allows you to set aside a number of eggs by the age of 35i.e. by when the eggs are qualitatively and quantitatively better and more numerous, following a brief controlled hormonal stimulation.
«Social Time Freezing offers the possibility of protect your own reproductive power through a cycle of hormonal stimulation, personal and customizable based on age, ovarian reserve, past individual history. Specifically, the method consists in guiding a hormonal stimulation under control through daily injections in the belly. These have the aim of simultaneously stimulating several follicles of the ovaries, and then recovering the eggs inside them with a simple operation that lasts a few minutes and with a single stimulation attempt» explained the expert.
How Social Time Freezing works
The operation, which is called oocyte retrieval, lasts a few minutes and precisely involves the aspiration of the eggs from the follicles through a probe equipped with a disposable needle: «If it is true that this procedure can also be accessed after 35 years, however it is equally true that by this age the procedure is much simpler, the stimulations are easy and the dosage of hormones is lower precisely because the quality of the eggs is even better».
Why should a young woman choose this procedure? «Because it is productive insurance, if we can define it that way. By freezing the oocytes, one has the certainty, at least of the attempt, of having set aside qualitatively better eggs allowing you to ensure your future reproduction. A choice that can help if we consider that society, the vicissitudes of life and personal questions of free choice do not help in this sense: we try to be able to guarantee every woman the possibility of becoming a mother”.
An assurance, therefore, that should be presented to all women especially to those who, as the doctor points out, have gynecological problems such as endometriosis or ovarian reserve. Is it a paid treatment? «Yes, because in Italy it takes place in the private sphere; the National Health System provides it free of charge only in cases of serious health problems, for example for young cancer patients» concludes the expert.
iO Woman © REPRODUCTION RESERVED