If you are over the age of 40 and are going through IVF or are not yet ready to have children, you should consider embryo freezing to help preserve your fertility. Below, we will take a look at why women over 40 should consider this procedure, as well as the basics of how it works.

‍How Fertility Changes After 40

‍Female fertility begins to decline in a woman's late 20s and early 30s, but does not take a sharp decline until after the age of 37. At age 40 and beyond, a woman's chances of getting pregnant have dropped sharply. In addition, egg count and quality decline dramatically, while the woman's response to fertility medications may become less robust. There is still a chance of getting pregnant after the age of 40, but that chance drops rapidly each year. For that reason, women over 40 should strongly consider embryo cryopreservation.

How Embryo Freezing Works

The basic procedure behind embryo cryopreservation is simple, although the procedure is actually quite complex to perform. The doctor fertilizes the eggs in the laboratory, as occurs in typical IVF. Then, the embryologist freezes the embryos, which remain frozen at carefully controlled conditions. When you are ready to try to get pregnant, the embryos are thawed. Your uterus is prepared using fertility medications, and the embryos are transferred when your uterine lining is mature.

‍Success Rates for Embryo Cryopreservation

‍Under the right conditions, the success rates with frozen embryos can approach those with fresh embryos. This means that the frozen embryos should be screened for quality and frozen under carefully controlled conditions before the procedure is performed.‍

Embryo Freezing vs. Egg Freezing

‍Although some women over 40 may be good candidates for embryo cryopreservation, egg freezing is not the right course of action in most cases. To be a good candidate for egg freezing, a woman should have many eggs of good quality, so most women who undergo the procedure are under 37. When you freeze embryos, you already know that the embryo was successfully frozen and the embryos have been screened for quality, greatly improving the chances of success. Dr. Randy Morris would be happy to meet with you about whether embryo freezing is right for you. To schedule your consultation today, please click below and enter your information or call IVF1 at (630) 357-6540.