Egg Freezing in Singapore

Age matters when it comes to fertility. Age-related changes in your eggs' quantity and quality make it harder to get pregnant or keep a pregnancy going. Regardless of how healthy you may otherwise be; this transformation happens to everyone at varying rates.

By the time you are in your late 30s, around half of your eggs will have aberrant chromosome numbers (either too few or too many). The failure of implantation or miscarriage is frequently caused by certain genetic abnormalities. Unfortunately, your likelihood of getting pregnant each month drops to 5% by the time you are in your 40s.

When you freeze your eggs in your 20s and 30s, you may take advantage of your body's fertility at a period when your eggs are at their healthiest, which is ideal for women who aren't ready to get pregnant but want to try to preserve fertility for the future.

Women typically have two ovaries at birth, each of which contains dormant eggs or follicles. Each woman has a certain number of eggs when she is born. At 20 weeks gestation, a woman has built 6 million eggs, the most eggs she will ever have in her lifetime. She will lose roughly half of her eggs at birth, and when she reaches puberty, she will only have about 200,000 eggs left. One egg grows during a menstrual cycle while the other eggs present that month will die off. You can get tested to determine the quantity of eggs (sometimes referred to as ovarian reserve) you have available.

Age and straightforward ovarian reserve testing are used to assess a woman's reproductive potential and determine whether egg freezing is an effective choice. Simply said, we are assessing the amount and quality of eggs that are offered. Age of the woman is the main factor affecting egg quality. The evaluation of ovarian reserve entails:

• A blood draw to measure a woman’s ovarian function, otherwise known as her egg quantity.

• An internal, or transvaginal ultrasound to measure a woman’s ovarian reserve.

The collective findings will offer a robust assessment of your ovarian reserve. With this information, you and your doctor can converse about the suitability of egg freezing for your situation. Further blood tests might be necessary based on your specific conditions.

Determining fertility or infertility solely relies on your capacity to achieve pregnancy; no other factor can definitively provide this information. Many individuals incorrectly associate a normal or abnormal Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) level with fertility or infertility, but this is an inaccurate assumption. The information provided by AMH and an antral follicle count (AFC) primarily pertains to your follicle quantity. Nonetheless, aspects such as your age and your actual pregnancy success offer insights into your reproductive quality.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels play a role in assessing your ovarian reserve, which reflects the remaining egg count. An AMH range of approximately 14.2-28.6 pmol/l is commonly seen in fertile women aged 20-38. Lower AMH levels might suggest a reduced ovarian reserve, yet this doesn't directly correlate with reproductive quality until levels are extremely low.

Our primary advice to all our patients revolves around maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. There are additional factors that might negatively impact your fertility, including excessive caffeine consumption, smoking, drug use, and alcohol consumption. For those who currently smoke, we strongly advise quitting at least 3 months before commencing a cycle.

The specific timeline varies based on each individual's circumstances, but generally, the complete egg freezing process, spanning from the initial consultation and testing to treatment planning, usually spans 4 to 6 weeks for most patients.

The egg freezing process comprises three primary stages. Initially, a fertility assessment is conducted, involving blood tests and an ultrasound, enabling your doctor to assess your present fertility status. Subsequently, you will administer medications to prompt your ovaries to develop a maximal number of eggs. The ultimate step in the egg freezing process involves egg retrieval, during which we collect and freeze your eggs.

Learn more about the details involved in the egg freezing process

Certain women might undergo bloating and discomfort akin to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms during ovarian stimulation. The egg retrieval procedure is carried out with mild sedation and is generally not painful. Following the retrieval, you might encounter slight discomfort, which can be alleviated using over-the-counter pain relievers. You may be given medical leave of 3-5 days.

The impact of hormone medications' side effects varies significantly based on the individual. Certain women might encounter heightened symptoms akin to those experienced during premenstrual syndrome (PMS), while others could face augmented bloating and slight discomfort due to enlarged ovaries.

Indeed, although the injection needles are generally quite small, we provide injection training sessions along with instructional videos to illustrate the proper technique for administering the injections.

Prior to commencing the egg freezing process, it's important to discontinue the use of birth control pills or patches since these methods prevent ovulation. However, you can resume their use after the egg retrieval procedure. If you have an IUD, it's not necessary to remove it during the egg freezing process. For individuals who have been using birth control pills or patches for an extended period, we often recommend a one-month "rest" period—essentially a month off from birth control. This recommendation is made because the pill essentially causes your ovaries to enter a dormant state. To enhance your response to fertility medications, we suggest this extra month without birth control to allow your ovaries to awaken. Opting not to take this month off is absolutely acceptable and won't affect the outcome negatively; however, it might extend the duration of the egg freezing cycle, resulting in additional days of medication to stimulate your ovaries.

At Raffles Fertility Centre, our protocol involves freezing exclusively mature eggs, as these are the ones capable of resulting in a pregnancy. The quantity of eggs recommended for freezing is contingent on both the individual's age and the outcomes of their ovarian reserve tests. For women aged 35 or under with strong ovarian function, we generally suggest freezing between 10 to 15 mature eggs. Conversely, for women over 35 or those with reduced ovarian function regardless of age, we recommend consulting your doctor to determine the ideal number of attempts. This approach allows for multiple opportunities to conceive in the event that a cycle is not successful.

When the time comes to utilize your cryopreserved eggs, a portion or all of them will undergo a thawing process. Subsequently, they will be fertilized using a technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). ICSI is essential due to the egg's protective coating becoming hardened during freezing. Consequently, a specific sperm is meticulously chosen and injected into the egg to facilitate fertilization. The decision regarding the extent of eggs to thaw and use, as well as the implementation of ICSI, should be deliberated with your fertility specialist, considering factors like your egg count, the age at which the eggs were frozen, and the quality of your partner's semen.

No. When you freeze your eggs, you are essentially completing a significant portion of the initial steps within the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process. In simpler terms, the act of freezing is equivalent to accomplishing the "IV" part of IVF, and the subsequent step involves the fertilization process, indicated by the "F".

Yes. Generally, we advise women to consider freezing their eggs within the age range of 30 to 38, with the optimal window falling between 32 and 35. Freezing eggs at a younger age often yields more favorable outcomes. If you were to freeze eggs at 30 and later utilize them at 40, your chances of success and the likelihood of miscarriage would be comparable to those of a 30-year-old. Essentially, you're securing your success rates based on the age at which the eggs were frozen. An advantage of this approach is that while our ovaries age over time, the uterus typically remains healthy until around age 50. Assuming you're in good health, there's usually no cause for concern if you choose to use your frozen eggs in your 40s.

The eggs frozen and stored are unequivocally your personal possession. The precise count of your stored eggs is known to you. These eggs are meticulously segregated from others', featuring rigorous quality checks and identity safeguards to ensure their security and provide you with assurance. Upon completion of the procedure, you will receive a comprehensive summary report.

If unused, the principle applies: unused eggs are naturally discarded. To clarify, each month, a cluster of eggs competes to be the selected one for ovulation. The remaining eggs in this contest, although participating, ultimately undergo natural elimination. In essence, egg freezing doesn't impair your future fertility prospects.

It is important to engage in a conversation about this matter with your doctor, as different centre might have varying policies. If you are contemplating egg donation, additional blood tests may be required before the egg collection.