Women’s experience of social egg freezing: perceptions of success, risks, and ‘going it alone’

Abstract

Very few studies have explored women’s experiences of social egg freezing and the limited primary research on this topic has suggested that users find the process of freezing eggs emotionally challenging. We, therefore, undertook semi-structured interviews with 31 women who identified as undergoing egg freezing for social reasons in order to explore how female users of social egg freezing technology reported their experience of freezing eggs for ‘social’ reasons. Interviews lasted between 40 minutes and 2 hours, were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis assisted by Nvivo 10. Women employed multiple concepts of egg freezing ‘success’. They reported a lack of detailed discussion of post-freezing processes and outcomes in their encounters with clinicians, and, contrary to the recommendations of professional associations, were not given clinic or age-specific information. Few women perceived freezing as involving physical risks. However, many participants reported the process of egg freezing as emotionally challenging, primarily linked to feelings of isolation and stigma due to their single status. Participants were generally satisfied with the treatment they received from clinics. However, they expressed a desire for more detailed information about potential outcomes from egg freezing and suggested ways in which clinics might address the emotional challenges of undertaking this process as an unpartnered person.

Keywords:

• Fertility
• egg freezing
• age-related infertility
• experiences
• qualitative research
• interviews

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This article was supported by the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness Mildred Blaxter Fellowship.