We know the best chance of having a healthy baby naturally is during our younger years. But that’s not always how life unfolds.
Many people aren’t ready — emotionally, financially, or personally — to have a child in their 20s. Sometimes, time simply passes and before we know it, our 30s are well underway. With each passing year, it’s natural to feel concerned about fertility and the impact of age on the ability to have a healthy baby.
Egg freezing offers a proactive way to preserve your fertility. When eggs are frozen, they’re essentially paused in time, keeping the same quality and age they were at the time of freezing. This can increase the chances of having a biological child in the future, when the time feels right.
Here are some key facts about eggs and fertility:
- We are born with around 1–2 million eggs.
- By puberty, this number drops to about 400,000.
- By age 30, only around 10% remain.
- Egg quality declines naturally with age.
- About 25% of eggs have chromosomal abnormalities by age 28, rising to 40% by age 35.
- The ideal time to freeze eggs is before your 35th birthday.
- Lifestyle and environmental factors — such as smoking, air pollution, and most importantly, age — affect egg quality and the likelihood of conceiving a healthy baby.
- When used in an IVF cycle, frozen eggs can perform just as well as fresh eggs.
Why age matters:
As we get older, eggs spend more time in the ovaries, where gradual wear and tear can affect their function. Over time, tiny energy-producing structures (mitochondria) inside the eggs become less efficient, meaning they may not have enough energy to fertilise and grow into a healthy embryo. This is what’s known as age-related fertility decline.
Making the right decision for you:
If you’re considering egg freezing, what matters most is that you feel supported, your questions are answered, and you’re comfortable making an informed decision that suits your life and goals.
Ready for personalised advice? No obligation chats await.
Free Nurse Chat: Cycle tracking and health basics.
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What are the risks?
Some complications from egg freezing could include:
• Pain, bloating, and discomfort
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Damage to internal organs
• Overstimulation syndrome
Egg freezing is not for every woman and every woman is different, with different needs, medical situations, life experiences and expectations. Therefore it is necessary to make sure treatment is performed with empathy, integrity and individualised care. The most important thing is that every woman is listened to, everyone’s questions are answered, and that you are empowered to make an informed decision that is right for you!
Freezing your eggs does not guarantee a baby
Frozen eggs when used in an IVF cycle perform just as well as using fresh eggs, which is fantastic, however, just as IVF does not guarantee a baby, we cannot guarantee that freezing your eggs will ensure you have a baby when you come to use them. As we cannot tell the quality of your eggs, we do not know how they will survive the freezing process, how they will fertilise (this also depends on the sperm), how your resulting embryos will grow, and the quality of your embryos once transferred back to you.
