Priyanka Chopra: Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas welcomed their baby girl Marie Maltie last year via surrogacy. Now Priyanka has revealed that she froze her eggs when she was 30. She did so on the advice of her mother Madhu Chopra who is an obstetrician-gynaecologist.
The actor was in conversation with in Dax Shephard on his podcast Armchair Expert. She shared that freezing her eggs gave her freedom to reach a certain place in her career. She had not yet met the person who she wanted to have children with. Priyanka met Nick, fell in love and tied the knot in 2018. Last year they had their baby girl Marie Maltie via surrogacy.
“I felt such freedom, I did it in my early thirties and I could continue on an ambitious warpath, I wanted to achieve, and I wanted to get to a certain place in my career. Also, I had not met the person I wanted to have children with. So, with that anxiety-inducing, and with my mom who is an obstetrician-gynaecologist going, ‘36…just do it'” said Priyanka.
What is egg freezing?
The procedure helps preserve a woman’s eggs to enable them to become mothers at a later date when they are ready to have a child. Experts, however, caution that pregnancy with fresh eggs is more likely as compared to frozen eggs.
During the procedure, medications are used to stimulate eggs to grow. Those eggs are then harvested from the ovaries and frozen for storage. At a later date, the eggs can be thawed and combined with sperm to create an embryo. The embryo can then be implanted into the uterus during an embryo transfer cycle.
While some people may opt to freeze their eggs for use at a later date, egg freezing is also associated with egg donation — when a donor gives eggs for someone else to use during fertility treatments.
Like Priyanka Chopra, women now have choice to freeze their eggs in young age due to several reasons, medical or personal. As one ages, the quality of their eggs may deteriorate and the process of ovulation stops after menopause. Freezing can enable women to embrace motherhood even after 40.
What is the right time to freeze eggs
Ideally one must freeze their eggs in late 20s or early 30s when the egg quality is better. As women age, especially post 35, the quality of the eggs decreases, and it may bring in complication like chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo.
The quality and quantity of eggs may reduce later in women with PCOS or endometriosis. Then can always freeze their eggs if they are planning for a late conception.
What precautions to take
The chances of getting good quality eggs is higher between 20 to 30 years of age than after 35 years. But you can do this after 35 after consulting the fertility specialist. If you are on contraceptive pills, you must discontinue after consultation.
There might a slight risk of overstimulation. Besides, you may experience little cramping, bloating, spotting mood swing and a little transient weight gain.
No other risk is involved if the procedure is done under expert medical supervision following required protocols by concerned doctors.
How eggs are frozen
The whole process may take up to 10 to 14 days and one needs to get some tests done to assess the condition and health of the eggs.
The woman undergoes hormone injections or fertility medications in order to make more eggs. The process starts from second day of menstruation. Hormones injections are given to encourage the ovaries to produce more eggs and prevent ovulation. This is followed by final injection to trigger ovulation. A doctor will monitor the whole process with ultrasound and few blood tests. Finally, egg is retrieved from ovaries of a woman under general or local anaesthesia through a needle.
After taking out the required eggs, they are frozen and kept under -196 degree celsius of temperature.
Once the entire procedure is done the woman can get back to normal life.
After some time, once the woman is ready to get pregnant the same eggs are injected with sperm to make embryos in laboratory and then are transferred inside the uterus for conception.
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