Egg freezing is not reproductive insurance – so what does 'success' really mean?

In August, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published their Scientific Impact Paper on 'social' or 'elective' egg freezing, a technology which increasing numbers of women are turning to in a bid to extend their fertile window and enable them to have children at an older age.

The report notes that the number of egg freezing cycles has trebled between 2016 and 2021 and that the technology is now the fastest-growing fertility treatment in the UK. Egg freezing has also been in the media recently with the US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealing that, at 36, she was going through the process of freezing her eggs to allow her to focus on her career (see BioNews 1352) and also with news that Chlesea football club are to become the first in the Women's Super League to cover the cost of egg freezing for their players (see BioNews 1356).

Our research and that of others, as discussed by the RCOG, has shown that despite a persistent narrative of egg freezing being used by 'career women', most users of...