In our modern world, women have the option of being a career superwoman, or a mother. While it’s possible to juggle both at the same time, it's definitely a tough feat. As a result, some women have chosen to place their focus on their careers first, and having a child second.
However, as age increases, fertility declines. Is it possible to have the best of both worlds? Singaporean actress and model Ase Wang who's 36 this year, believes so.
She decided to have her eggs frozen in Thailand last month because she was not ready to have a baby yet. She also knew that there was a chance she would not be able to have kids naturally due to low egg reserves.
Human invited her to host an AMA (Ask Me Anything) Session to discuss her egg freezing experience.
Here's what she had to say.
In Singapore, egg freezing is only allowed on medical ground
Image: futurelearn.com
Did you know that single women in Singapore are not allowed to freeze their eggs?
This procedure is only permitted where there is a medical justification, e.g. cancer patients who have to undergo chemotherapy that will adversely affect their fertility.
In recent years, a small but growing number of single Singaporean women are going overseas to freeze their eggs, in the hope of having children when they get do get married.
Ase believes single women should be allowed to freeze their eggs in Singapore
Ase 100% believes that our government to allow all single women to freeze their eggs. She put forth two main arguments:
Fertility rates here have been on the sharp decline. She believes that by legalising egg freezing for all women, this situation can be improved.
She personally thinks that it's very cruel to take this right away from women who are not ready to conceive yet. To quote her, "We live in a modern world today, so our people need to be treated the same way."
Why so little women are aware of egg freezing?
Why isn’t this procedure a commonplace practice nowadays, some might ask.
Apart from it being partially prohibited, Ase blames it on the lack of education. She believes that our government has not done enough to educate us on egg freezing.
When is the best time to freeze your eggs?
According to Ase, the younger the better! She advises all the women who are of a suitable age to have children to get their egg reserves checked. From there, you are able to plan your next steps.
She revealed that she only got it checked because a friend told her to. In general, be kiasu to be safe.
Plenty of needles will be coming your way
If you've decided to freeze your eggs, there's no place for the fear of needles. You've to be injected with hormones on a daily basis.
If it's any consolation, Ase managed to plough through it despite being terrified of needles. She has fainted from taking blood tests before! She said that there's no other way but to suck it up and take it like a champ. You'd be better with it after a couple of days.
More good news: Ase says that the injections weren't really painful. So if you're not scared of needles, this would be a walk in the park.
Be prepared for a hormone overload
With all these hormones being injected, you got to buckle up for an emotional rollercoaster ride.
Ase acknowledged that her emotions were all over the place throughout the procedure, but she feels that it's still managable.
She also shared that during her first time, she was going through a break up, so it was exceptionally rough on her. Despite that, she still managed to keep her emotions under control.
Most mood swings might just be transient, and it’s not to the extent where you will want to go around murdering people. (if that's what you're worried about!)
How many eggs should you freeze?
1, 2, or 3? Once again, Ase believes being kiasu is the way to go. The more eggs you freeze, the higher chance you have of having a viable and fertile egg when you’re ready.
When do these eggs expire?
Your frozen eggs should last for a good 5-10 years! So in a way, it 'buys' you some extra time.
"Am I ruining my egg production now now if I freeze them?"
Not at all. If you don’t have a fertility issue, your body will still continue to produce more eggs.
In fact, regular sex and natural conception is still recommended by doctors (if you’re trying to conceive) even if you have already frozen your eggs. Egg freezing is just a back up.
To freeze or not to freeze?
Here's the biggest question: how do you decide whether or not egg freezing is right for you?
Ase thinks that you’re not ready for a child yet, but want to keep your options open, this is a good way to buy some time.
She admits that at this point, she doesn't know if having kids is for her. However, she wants this option to be there for her if she decides to have one in the future. She'd rather go through this process then to regret it later in life.
If your financial situation allows for it, she thinks that egg freezing is worth it.
Human’s Ask Me Anything (AMA) enables open health conversations between readers, health professionals and patients from all walks of life. View the complete list of upcoming Human AMAs here.