I guess because I’m older and still studying, I started looking into egg freezing earlier this year. I’m not ready to have children yet. I also don’t have the financial means or a partner to consider doing this with. Working in medicine makes it difficult to meet someone because once you’re in a training program you keep rotating around, and I guess it’s just not that easy. I know I want to have children one day, I don’t know how I want to have them but egg freezing might just give me a bit of extra time.

I find it difficult discussing these things particularly with my male colleagues as they just don’t get trying to juggle developing a career and having a family. They assume falling pregnant at 40 is the norm, but that’s not what the research shows.

I’m often told that in my industry you can either have a family or a career but you can’t have both. I know it’s not right, but I feel if I choose my career I am less of a woman or there is something wrong with me. I think speaking openly about this early on, and with men, will help people in general become more aware of the limits to female fertility and egg freezing, and to normalise the conversation as it not something to be ashamed about.

One of the biggest things for me to weigh up was the cost as I’m still a student at the end of the day. The cost of cycles, storage, and also the chances of actually using my eggs in the future – would it be worth it in the end or a waste of money which could be better used elsewhere? I haven’t seen a fertility specialist but I also wonder what the hormones will do to me, and how it will affect my day to day life. Will my weight increase? Will I become very emotional? Does it hurt? How would I fit it in with work? Could I take sick leave? How many cycles would I need to have to get a good amount of eggs? I wouldn’t do it if I couldn’t get a good amount. Another thing I’m interested is ovarian tissue freezing but it’s not something available as yet.

Thinking about these things early on is important as sometimes people may underestimate their fertility. I’ve seen my friends go through IVF and the massive impact it has on their relationships and lives. I decided not to freeze my eggs at this time. When I have finished studying, and I’m more financially stable I will start looking into it again but for now it’s on hold.

One of the things about being female is having the option to become a mum one day. Whether we choose to use it or not, no one likes having that option taken away from them. I’m currently in my mid-30s and not in a committed relationship, so if becoming a mum is to happen one day I want to try and preserve my fertility for as long as I can.

I started looking into egg freezing at around 30 however I can’t really remember what was happening in my life then, but I didn’t really do much with the information then. It wasn’t until I was about 35 when I started reading up on it again. I was also having a few heath issues which included irregular periods so my GP asked me to do some tests which included measuring my AMH. The news I received from my GP was extremely upsetting. I was 35 and was basically told I was going through early menopause because my AMH level was in the low range for my age. That was not something I wanted to hear. I felt it was done in such an insensitive way and after seeing a specialist I found out the information was actually incorrect. I was not going through early menopause, however if I did want to freeze eggs I had about 18 months to think about it.

After all my other health issues were resolved my gynaecologist (who is also a fertility specialist) and I discussed egg freezing. It’s a big decision to make so I did what I knew best and that was to continue researching it. I sought more information from the internet and scientific research articles. I also attend a fertility seminar which was interesting to understand the whole process however I knew most of the information they talked about beforehand. I felt however, that they didn’t really cover anything around private health insurance or Medicare rebates available for freezing. I ended up having a private consultation with a second fertility specialist and found out I was on the edge of being covered by Medicare for infertility. This made me reach out to my private health insurance provider to see if there was anything they could do. I ended up changing my policy to the highest level to cover some of the egg freezing costs, however I would need to wait 12 months before I could use it. I could afford to freeze my eggs at that time, however, it would have been very expensive, particularly if - worst case scenario - I needed to do 3 or 4 cycles. If you are thinking about freezing your eggs, I’d say do your homework. Have a think about how many cycles you may need, the costs, and whether your health insurance can cover it (if it’s something that you have).

This has been a very emotional and draining process for me. I’m not exactly ok with the whole thing, or 100% sure if I’ll actually freeze my eggs, but I’ve set myself up to take control of the things I can control. I know I’m ready if I choose to do it, but I also know that if I don’t do it in the end I’ve done all my homework, covered all my bases, and left no question unanswered.

I think it is also important to find a specialist and clinic which suits you. I did a lot of research when it came to a specialist. The one that I have is great and I don’t feel pressured into freezing at all. Their clinic also suits me as it is small so I’m not in a waiting room with other people.

Having a good support network is really important as well. I found having a counsellor and a great group of friends really valuable during this process. My counsellor and I were able to talk through how my own personal and cultural values impact on my decision to freeze or not freeze my eggs. There isn’t really any information about this online or in a handbook so it was good to have my beliefs validated as important when making my decision.

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to egg freezing. Whatever decision you make you need to feel comfortable with it. Comfortable doesn’t have to mean happy and ok, it just means comfortable with the decision you made. From my experience it is an extremely emotional journey to go through. You can be given all the research and information available but sometimes it’s hard to reason with emotion so it’s important to have a good support system. Friends, family, a counsellor, whatever works for you to back you up.