'I was really worried I would not have that dream': Surge in women freezing their eggs

Melanie Bradshaw is a new mom of two. Now in her 40s, it's a title she says is only possible because she decided to freeze her eggs about 12 years ago.

"When I was 34, going through a separation, I knew I wasn't going to start a family anytime soon," Bradshaw said.

Because she worked at Shady Grove Fertility, Bradshaw was familiar with what was then the relatively new process of egg freezing. She decided to do it. Years later, after she married the love of her life, they used the frozen eggs to grow their family.

"I'm going to try not to be emotional," she said, fighting back tears. "But I was really worried that I would not have that dream of mine."

Now, the popularity of egg freezing locally and nationally is skyrocketing.

From 2020 to 2021, there was a 30% increase in egg freezing cycles nationwide, with a total of 24,560 cycles, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.

In the last decade, Shady Grove Fertility has seen an 83% surge in its egg freezing program.

Dr. Leah Bressler, who works at Shady Grove's Cary office, says it allows women options.

"I think egg freezing is an important mile marker in the women's movement," she said. "[Women] can go through life knowing that they can evaluate relationships for what they are, they can make career decisions that have their best interests at heart."

"Previously, pressure of a biological clock could cause a woman to stay in an unhealthy partnership or have children earlier than she really wanted or was prepared to," Bressler continued. "Now, there is an alternate option."

Bressler says egg freezing is most successful when done between the ages of 25 and 35. The process is not as invasive as you might think. It involves injections for about two weeks, during which time there are regular ultrasounds. Then, there's the retrieval.

"The egg retrieval procedure involves you being put to sleep," she said. "So, that's one day you need to take completely off work. But my patients generally work every other day of the process, go back to work the next day."

Increasingly, large companies, like Amazon, Walmart, Google and Starbucks, are offering to cover part or all of the egg freezing cost for their employees. Typically, that cost is in the neighborhood of $15,000.

Paige Ouimet, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Executive Director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, has done research focusing on female-friendly benefits.

She says women have a higher share of labor participation now than ever before, and companies need to do all they can to attract them.

"I think particularly among large firms that are attracting top talent, things like egg freezing are probably going to become tablestakesrelatively soon," she said. "It's a way to signal more broadly to employees that you see the specific needs of women and that you're thinking about that in designing your compensation practices."

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 15 states require insurers to cover some infertility services. Two states- Texas and California - require insurers to offer at least one plan that covers infertility procedures. The other 33 states, including North Carolina, have no insurance mandates about infertility services.

Bradshaw hopes egg freezing will become more accessible, so more families have the opportunity she did.

"To have the ability to do this for myself was priceless," she said.