How Egg Freezing & IVF Clinics Are Putting Women At Risk

There is increasing concern among the medical community that the high doses of hormones involved in fertility treatments – whether that is for IVF or egg freezing – are putting women unnecessarily at risk of complications. 

In September 2020 Francesa Hockham had a miscarriage. She was shocked when it happened and so was her husband because they didn’t know they could get pregnant naturally. The first they knew of the pregnancy was when they lost it. Francesca, a charity support worker from Milton Keynes, is now 40. She had been going through IVF since she was 35 after getting pregnant naturally proved to be a challenge.

In total, Francesca has undergone two rounds of IVF. During that process she has had 26 eggs extracted, 10 of which were fertilised and seven of which made it to the embryo stage. It has been a physically and emotionally draining process which has taken a toll on her body and mind. 

This, in no small part, seems to be because she has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis. The former she discovered while taking...