www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com | 67 C H A R L E S T ON CO U N T Y M E D I C A L S OC I E T Y HealthLinks Charleston is a proud partner of the Charleston County Medical Society. For more information on joining CCMS, contact Dana Holladay at [email protected]. “The age of the eggs is a very important factor for the success rate of pregnancy,” Dr. Cox said. The cost for freezing eggs varies greatly, depending upon how many cycles a woman needs to harvest a recommended number of eggs, how many eggs are frozen and for how long. There also are costs for implantation and other treatments in the fertilization process. Ultimately, the expense can range between $15,000 and $40,000 over a period of time, according to FertilityIQ.com. “At Adore, our costs are 50% lower than most clinics in the United States for egg freezing alone,” said Dr. Cox, noting that she empathizes with women who must shoulder the burden of expenses. “When I went through this process when I was in the Army, during 60-hour work weeks in my mid-30s, I was fortunate to have military health care help with some costs,” Dr. Cox added. “With that said, I realize even for me as a physician how expensive the costs were, and it’s hard not feel that it is unfair and unbalanced compared to how easy it can be for a man to preserve his fertility. There are some gender inequalities we cannot change.” This fertilization process, like others, does not come with a 100% guarantee of a future baby, another reason many women decide not to do it. “Fertility does require many, many things to align,” said Dr. Cox, adding that among the aligning factors are “normal anatomy for sperm and egg to meet” and “open fallopian tubes and a healthy uterus.” “Egg health is most affected by the age of the female,“ Dr. Cox said. “However, heavy drinking, smoking and drugs, weight extremes or certain medical conditions or medications can affect a women’s egg reserve in the sense that we can damage our eggs and thus lose more at a higher rate than expected.” Ultimately, when it comes to a woman’s decision about her future, knowledge is power. The goal is to ensure that women who want to have children have the information they need to set themselves up for success, Dr. Cox noted: “And, hopefully, women will have more talks about their fertility health and preservation in general.” With more discussion about fertility health and preservation, the tick, tick, tick of a woman’s biological clock should be less haunting.
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