Jennifer Aniston’s latest interview in Allure revealing her IVF journey is once again opening up the conversation about fertility and egg-freezing.
"I'm turning 37 next week and I want everyone at my age to know that this is an option," said Carla Giorgio, of West Hartford.
Giorgio says Aniston’s words about her IVF journey resonated with her. She recently froze her eggs and encourages women with any desire to become a mom to consider scheduling an appointment with their OBGYN or fertility specialist to learn more about egg freezing.
"I'm still single and this kind of takes the pressure off of dating and trying to find someone and you know, wanting to be a mom," Giorgio said.
"One of the big things that has changed is we've only been able to successfully freeze eggs for probably the last 10 years or so, so that's why it's become a greater interest now," Dr. John Nulsen, IVF director at the Center for Advanced Reproductive Services, said.
Nulsen says women in their early 20s have about a 20% chance of conceiving every month.
At 30 years old, women have a 15 to 20% chance and at 35, it's about a 10 to 15% chance. By 40 years old, it's about an eight to 10% chance of conceiving in any given month.
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"For an individual who's involved with their career, or they're just not ready to consider it, creating a family, it's important to be knowledgeable about what the impact of advancing maternal age can have," Nulsen said.
Another factor is insurance. Giorgio's policy covered the majority of her egg freezing, and even then she ended up paying about $800 altogether.
Nulsen says the procedure can sometimes range anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 out of pocket.
"The day of the retrieval...when I got home, I felt immediate not only physical relief that I was done on hormones, but just emotional relief," Giorgio said.
For women who know the option of younger eggs is there, should they need them, it's a sense of relief.
"It's an insurance policy, basically what it is, and you know, most people hope that they don't have to use that insurance policy, but if they do, then it's available to them and I think folks find a lot of comfort in that," Nulsen said.
