Claire Evans dreams came true the moment she became a mother to baby Fiona.
“Just knowing that there’s this person that’s looking to me to kind of help guide her through the world,” said Evans, who gave birth after turning 40-years-old.
This was also the result of a back-up plan she put in place years ago, after a painful breakup that led her to question whether she’d ever have a baby.
What You Need To Know
- Claire Evans credits freezing her eggs early for her successful pregnancy
- An NYU Langone study found that 70 percent of women under 38 who froze eggs and later thawed at least 20 of those eggs had a baby
- Dr. Jamie Grifo says freezing eggs early also helps doctors to identify and treat fertility issues sooner
“At 36, I decided to freeze my eggs and create a safety net for me if I decided down the road that I did want to have kids,” Evans said. “They retrieved 33 eggs and of the 23, 33 were frozen.”
Five years later, after she eventually got married and started a family — those frozen eggs were waiting for the right moment.
“If you do that in your relative young thirties, when you’re in your late thirties and forties needing IVF, you have a better chance of being successful,” Dr. Jamie Grifo, Evans’ doctor and director of NYU Langone’s Fertility Center, said.
According to an NYU Langone study, 70% of women under 38 who froze eggs and later thawed at least 20 of those eggs, had a baby and found egg freezing more efficient than in-vitro fertilization for older would-be moms.
Dr. Grifo says freezing eggs earlier offers another benefit.
“One in eight couples are infertile and you don’t know, and you don’t find out you’re infertile until you try,” Dr. Grifo explained. “Here’s the other thing, patients who are freezing eggs. One in eight of them are infertile. We just don’t know it. They never tried. So, we’re actually treating infertility before the patient even knows she has it.”
He said it’s empowering news as more women than ever delay motherhood. Evans believes egg freezing urges more young women to learn their options.
“The younger you are, the easier it is, the more successful you’re likely to be, [and] the better chance you have to just enjoy and plan the rest of your life,” Evans said.