For the modern woman, balancing the home front and career is a big challenge. Many women choose to marry late and plan their families even later. They also know that conceiving at a later age might either be difficult, or could lead to complications both during pregnancy as well as during delivery.
Thanks to the advancement of medicines, there are now techniques where a woman, or even a man for that matter can look at options around fertility preservation so that they can become parents whenever they feel they are ready.
Fertility preservation is an approach to help the people preserve their reproductive capabilities so that in the future, they can start a family when they wish.
Women wishing to explore this option should have a discussion with their doctors as soon as possible. The objective of these discussions would take the below into consideration.
Patient’s age: The age of a patient can largely determine the outcome of the preservation treatments, hence, a more appropriate method of preservation needs to be considered.
Health conditions:Any preexisting health condition could determine the success rates, hence the doctor will ask the lady or man to talk about their overall health.
Once these discussions are done, the doctor will be able to suggest the most suitable form of fertility preservation.
What Are The Different Types Of Fertility Preservation Options?
Egg freezing: Freezing eggs has become quite a common procedure these days, with women opting to do so to increase their chances of becoming a mother later in their lives. In this procedure, eggs are harvested from the woman and frozen. When a woman is ready to start a family, these eggs are thawed and planted back for them to be fertilized. This process is also known as oocyte cryopreservation and can be explored as an option for a woman diagnosed with cancer.
Embryo freezing or embryo cryopreservation: In this method, eggs are harvested from the woman, fertilized into an embryo and then frozen. When the woman is ready, the embryo is thawed and planted back. Clinical outcomes are much better in this form of preservation as embryos survive the thawing process almost 90% of the time.
Sperm freezing: In men, this process works just like egg freezing. Sperm samples are frozen and stored for later use.
Fertility Preservation Options For Women With Chronic Diseases Like Cancer:
Chronic diseases like cancer can have a detrimental impact on pregnancy. Oncological treatments can have a level of gonadotoxicity leading to Premature Ovarian Insufficiency, also known as POI.
If diagnosed with cancer, people are recommended to understand their reproductive goals so that fertility preservation can be explored as an option.
Ovarian transposition: This method is generally recommended when the treatment for cancer is radiation. Radiation can be quite detrimental to fertility, especially if the ovaries are exposed to it. In this procedure, if the targeted area is the abdomen, then the ovaries are surgically repositioned into the pelvis so that the exposure to radiation is minimal. Even though the exposure cannot be nil, yet, minimizing it results in considerably better reproductive outcome. In most cases, the ovaries need not be repositioned back.
Shielding: To protect the reproductive organs from exposure to radiation, a simple process of placing lead shields either over the testicles, or the ovaries is another form of fertility preservation that doctors recommend.
Removal of cervix: A conservative approach, this process removes a part of the cervix that contains that cancerous area to retain and protect the reproductive organs. Doctors also sometimes proceed with what is known as radical trachelectomy to remove a part of the cervix and tissues near the uterus and ovaries.
A conversation with fertility specialists is encouraged to seek answers to questions like how will fertility preservation impact cancer treatment, or whether an oncological intervention can be delayed for this purpose.
On the whole, fertility preservation is a big boon. Women who want to choose success without compromising on their reproductive goals can explore these options that are considered safe with great clinical outcomes.
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