Women increasingly delay the moment of being mothers. In fact, Spain is one of the countries in which women have their first oldest child, 32 years old. This is because many expect to have economic stability and find the most convenient time to speak professionally.
Precisely that is what actress Eva Longoria has done that has just announced that She is four months pregnant thanks to vitrification of eggs, a fertility preservation technique that will allow her to be a mother at 42. We will talk about what this assisted reproduction technique consists of and in what cases it is performed.
The actress had signed by contract not to get pregnant while filming 'Desperate Women', causing her to postpone that option for years. As other famous personalities have done, he decided to freeze his ovules years ago until the moment he considered best to be a mother.
Egg cryopreservation is a way to delay motherhood but making sure that the genetic material of the ovule has the optimal age, reducing the risks of chromosomal defects.
Vitrification of ovules, what is it?
The vitrification or cryopreservation of ovules It is an assisted reproduction technique that aims to protect women's fertility at their optimal reproductive age, when it has more ovules and better quality.
The most suitable age to perform the vitrification of ovules is in the twenty, from the age of 20. Fertility begins to decline at age 27, but it is after age 35 when the ovarian reserve worsens considerably.
Doing it at this age increases the chances of getting pregnant in the future and giving birth a healthy baby free of chromosomal diseases linked to maternal age.
How it is performed?
It consists of two processes. The first is the obtaining oocytes, which consists of stimulating the ovaries so that multiple follicles develop, and then performing an ovarian or follicular puncture to remove the ovules.
The second is the preservation of these ovules. Freezing is performed at ultrafast speeds and kept submerged in liquid nitrogen. Vitrified eggs do not deteriorate over time. They remain in exactly the same conditions as when they were frozen, and can remain the same indefinitely.
When the woman decides to be a mother, the egg is thawed and in vitro fertilization is carried out. The endometrium is prepared, which is the part of the uterus that should accommodate the embryos, and the fertilized ovum is transferred to the mother's womb. Survival rates are similar to those of fresh eggs and are around 90%.
Cases in which egg vitrification is recommended
According to EVa Clinics, not only celebrities decide to freeze their eggs, because this treatment is suitable for any woman whose rhythm of life or other circumstances as a disease does not allow her to be a young mother, but don't want to give up on your dream.
The most common cases in which women often resort to egg vitrification that allows them to postpone their maternity in the best conditions are:
Women who for professional issues Do not consider being mothers today, but want to protect your fertility, so that the passing of the years does not affect your ovarian reserve and therefore makes it possible to be a mother in the future.
Women who for personal issues They decide to postpone their maternity, in order to be a mother in the future at the time she chooses.
Women diagnosed with endometriosis, autoimmune diseases, collagen diseases or with a family history of early menopause.
Women diagnosed with cancer who want to protect their fertility to become a mother tomorrow after the disease is over. Radiation therapy or chemotherapy can cause irreversible damage to the eggs. With the technique of vitrification of ovules, women can vitrify their gametes, thus having the opportunity to get pregnant once the disease is over.
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