A 25-year-old is freezing her eggs and sharing the process on TikTok because she believes it's an important topic of conversation to have in today's society.
Ontario Tiktoker, Shania Bhopa, a Global Health Ph.D. student at McMaster University and founder of The Canadian Courage Project, said sharing her egg-freezing journey publically made her "very nervous" because she "never want someone to take this and think it's unprofessional."
Now, Bhopa is going viral. She told Narcity she's also talking about her story to break "down the stigma of talking about fertility as a woman who's of an ethnic minority."
@wellbyshania Welcome to the freezing eggs series where we talk about fertility, daily life & finding a way to do it all Freezing eggs Egg freezing Female fertility
One of Bhopa's reasons for freezing her eggs while young is she doesn't "want to feel rushed." The 25-year-old plans "to have a family" but also said she wants to "think through my career, enjoy it and really feel my career goals as best I can."
"It's an investment in myself," she said. "You never hear that someone regrets freezing their eggs, you only hear about the stories when it's too late, or it's, you know, your mid-30s. And your egg reserve isn't in the best quality."
"I'm just taking those necessary steps to be as logical as I can in planning for my future," she added.
But some people in the comments are feeling "so stressed out." While others are "scared of growing up ☠️" or just questioning their decisions, "Wait I'm 25…….should I be doing this 😀😖."
"This was my sign to have a baby cause the clock is ticking I just turned 25 😳," someone commented, to which Shania said, "Honestly take life as it comes don't feel pressured feel empowered!"
Dr. Meivys Garcia, Bhopa's doctor from Markham Fertility Centre, told Narcity, "The ideal age to freeze eggs is between age 23 to 35, as that is the peak of reproductive potential in terms of egg quality and egg quantity, but women at any age should discuss their specific situation with their doctor."
"While nothing can stop or reverse ovarian aging, egg freezing is a technology now readily available to women who know they want to maintain their reproductive potential but aren't ready to have a child now," Dr. Garcia added.
How much does it cost to freeze your eggs in Canada?
@wellbyshania Replying to @GAZ ART if this series goes viral maybe we can start a petition for this to be more affordable/free for women everywhere?! Follow along for the series Freezing eggs Womens fertility Womens health Womens wellness Phdstudent #freezingmyeggs #fertilitycosts #eggfreezingcost
The process of freezing your eggs could be costly and time-consuming. The TikToker shared that the prices range, but so does the time it takes to complete, which could be up to two weeks long.
According to Canadian Living, the cost to freeze your eggs ranges from "$5,000 to $10,000, in addition to $300-$500 per year for storage fees. Hormones and medications can range from $3,000 to $6,000. Then there's the $3000 tab for IVF, once you're ready."
However, it's worth noting that you should look at your benefits plan. The TikToker told Narcity that "insurance will cover a large portion of that. At least it did for me in Ontario."
When is the best time to freeze your eggs?
@wellbyshania This keeps me up at night. Simply wild. Egg freezing
Knowing when you freeze your eggs is an important question to ask yourself if you plan to have children at an older age.
Studies show that the quality of eggs as women age differs. For example, someone in their early 20s compared to a woman in her late 30s differ biologically, especially when focusing on their reproductive systems.
According to IVF Canada, "advances in technology have made egg freezing a successful procedure. The ideal time to freeze eggs is in the mid to late 20's or early to mid 30's."
For Bhopa, she wanted to get the best eggs she could freeze, which meant the earlier, the better.
"I think the biggest thing is women are delaying their reproductive goals until their careers are well established," she said. "But unfortunately, what that means is, by the time women are ready to reproduce, biology is not on their side."
"In other words, their egg reserve isn't as good as it would be in their prime, which is early to mid 20s. So I think it's important for me, and just women in general, to know that you're able to take control and have ownership over your reproductive goals and not feel this like pressure, to have to rush into them," she added.
How does egg freezing work?
@wellbyshania Replying to @Daniela Velasquez comment below your questions & welcome to the series. I was really hesitant to share my journey at first but after trying to find resources online myself from women in the south asian community or just broadly any woman sharing information i really saw few - so we took the leap and here we are Welcome to my journey 🥺 Egg freezing Fertility process Fertility Womens health
The process is very similar to women looking to do IVF.
According to Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine, the process "involves injections of gonadotropin hormones for approximately 10 days to stimulate the eggs to grow. The eggs are then removed from the ovaries and checked under a microscope for maturity."
Bhopa said, "essentially what it is, is it can be anywhere from an eight-day to 14-day period of daily medication daily, every other day you're having ultrasounds, you're having bloodwork up until egg retrieval day. So the entire process can range up to two weeks."
However, it's worth noting that the process is not painful. Instead, the TikToker said, "most women just experience bloating over the course of the days leading up to egg retrieval. And then on the egg retrieval, you it's a 20-minute procedure, you're put under anesthetic, local anesthetic, and you're in and you're out."
Additionally, CCRM Fertility state, "some women experience bloating and discomfort during ovarian stimulation (similar to PMS symptoms). The egg retrieval process is done under light sedation and is not painful. After the retrieval, you may experience some mild pain that you can treat with over-the -counter pain relievers."
If you're overwhelmed by this article's content, look at Shania's TikTok page for some transparent answers to your questions.
She even said she will be "sharing an entire series Q&A with my fertility doctor to help with knowledge translation on the subject."
Regardless, it's a good time to start having those difficult questions with yourself because as they say, "it's better late than sorry."
An Ontario TikToker Is Freezing Her Eggs At 25 Years Old & People Are 'Stressed Out'
Source: News Article Viral
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