Extra ladies are freezing their eggs, however few look like returning to make use of them, a brand new research discovered.
The research was led by researchers on the College of California, Los Angeles, and revealed final month within the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It discovered that the variety of deliberate, elective egg freezing cycles elevated exponentially between 2014 and 2021, leaping from 4,153 to 16,436.
Notably, ladies more and more selected to freeze their eggs at youthful ages, the research discovered. In 2014, the typical age for egg freezing was 36. Seven years later, in 2021, that had dropped to 34.9 years of age.
“That is the most important U.S. research so far on elective fertility preservation, revealing insights into the clear shift in reproductive behavior as extra ladies delay childbearing to pursue schooling, careers, and private objectives,” Lindsay Kroener, a professor in reproductive endocrinology and infertility on the David Geffen College of Drugs at UCLA and senior creator of the research, said in a statement.”
Girls could also be more and more opting out of getting youngsters
Regardless of the uptick in ladies selecting to protect their eggs, fewer than 6% of those ladies used their frozen eggs throughout the research’s 5 to seven yr follow-up interval. Of those who did return to make use of their eggs, they tended to be between the ages of 38 and 42 years of age.
The research’s findings observe earlier analysis that reveals an growing variety of ladies are deciding to not have youngsters. A 2024 United Nations report discovered that international fertility is in decline. And different analysis suggests extra ladies may be selecting to not marry, too. A 2019 Morgan Stanley study primarily based on Census Bureau knowledge, projected 45% of prime working age ladies (ages 25–44) will probably be single by 2030, up from 41% in 2018.
Girls could also be selecting to not have youngsters for quite a lot of causes, together with the rising price of childcare (and value of dwelling) and the truth that ladies disproportionately really feel pressured to leave their jobs to look after younger youngsters. Nonetheless, specialists say extra analysis is required earlier than coming to any robust conclusions.
“Will probably be necessary to see how return charges for thawing evolve with an extended follow-up interval. Over time, we might discover that extra young patients in the end return to make use of their eggs,” Kroener mentioned.
