Why Women Should Store Their Eggs Before Age 35 – Gynaecologist

As more women delay marriage and childbirth due to career demands and other factors, fertility experts have advised that they consider freezing their eggs before the age of 35 to improve their chances of future conception and reduce age-related infertility risks.

Egg freezing, also known as oocyte cryopreservation, is a fertility preservation technique in which a woman’s eggs are collected, frozen, and stored at extremely low temperatures for future use.

A gynaecologist and fertility specialist at the Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr Jesse Atongo, said technological advancement had given women the option to preserve their fertility, but many still wait until their mid-to-late thirties, when egg quality has already begun to decline.

According to him, eggs stored through freezing remain viable for as long as the client continues to pay the annual storage fee. “If you store your eggs, they can remain there for as long as you keep paying the service fee. The duration will not affect the eggs,” he said.

However, he emphasised that timing is critical. “We recommend that this should be done before 35 because that’s when you get to the peak of your quality and the number of eggs,” he explained.

Dr. Atongo told LEADERSHIP Sunday that socio-economic realities such as prolonged education, demanding career paths and shifting marriage patterns had pushed many women into later reproductive years, often without a clear fertility plan.

He warned that once a woman hits 35, the natural decline in egg quality accelerates. “If for any reason you are not married or you’ve not started having children yet at 35, you must make a decision. If you want to store your eggs, you must make it at 35,” he stressed.

The decline, he said, becomes more pronounced between ages 35 and 40, after which egg quality drops sharply. “From 40, it’s absolutely a no, no, no. In IVF, you have to recommend donor eggs,” Dr. Atongo added.

He also advised married women who have been trying to conceive naturally without success to pay close attention to their age. Once a woman is 35 and above, he said, fertility interventions may require more aggressive treatment options due to declining egg quality.

In the same vein, the chairman, Management Committee of the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning, Dr. Ejike Orji,  said egg quality begins to decline from age 30 and significantly increases the risk of chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome when pregnancies occur later in life.

Speaking on the rising global interest in fertility preservation, he explained that although not every woman above 40 will give birth to a child with Down syndrome, the probability becomes noticeably higher. “Once a woman passes 30, the egg quality will start declining. That’s why you notice that when women hit 40 and have a child, they can have  Down syndrome, the risk is higher at that age,” he said.

He noted that many advanced countries promote egg freezing to reduce the pressure on women to marry or conceive early. By harvesting eggs in their 20s or early 30s, when quality is highest,  women can later use the stored eggs for IVF when they are emotionally, financially, or professionally ready for motherhood.

“They freeze the egg when they’re in their 20s or early 30s. When they want to have children later, they unfreeze it and use it with their partner through IVF,” he explained.

The expert added that egg freezing also allows women greater control over their life choices without compromising their chances of having healthy children. “It helps women plan their lives in a way beneficial to them and their future child, especially when they feel they don’t yet have the resources to raise a child,” he said.

However, he cautioned that egg freezing is not a perfect solution. Despite successful freezing, only 40–60 percent of stored eggs typically remain viable. “Even though the egg has been frozen and everything went well, only about 40 to 60 percent of the eggs are very good,” he said.

He also said the procedure is not without risks and potential side effects.

According to him, egg freezing involves ovarian stimulation using fertility hormones and a minor surgical procedure to retrieve eggs from the ovaries for storage.

He noted that one of the complications associated with egg freezing is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), a condition caused by an excessive response to fertility hormones, infection and others.

Dr. Orji also noted that cost remains another major barrier.  According to him, some countries, egg freezing procedures cost up to $30,000, with annual storage fees ranging from $500 to $1,000.

He stated that egg freezing facilities maintain uninterrupted 24-hour electricity to safeguard stored eggs, a requirement that increases expenses significantly in Nigeria due to erratic power supply. “Anyone doing egg freezing in our country must have 24 hours electricity, for any reason if that is affected, it means you lose the eggs,” he noted.

Egg freezing is no longer just a trend in advanced countries; it is fast becoming a necessary reproductive choice for  Nigeria women who want to safeguard their chances of future motherhood.

Recently,  a popular skit maker, Amarachi Amusi,  popularly known as Ashmusy,  publicly embrace the procedure to secure future fertility options as she shared videos documenting her egg-freezing journey, revealing that personal experiences, including heartbreak and failed relationships, influenced her decision.

She said she chose the procedure to avoid rushing into marriage because of age pressure, stressing that she wanted control over her reproductive choices.

Similarly, Afrobeats superstar Tiwa Savage, spoke about freezing her eggs after giving birth to her son, Jamil, at age 34, she said she wanted the flexibility to expand her family without the pressure of a biological clock.

However, with egg freezing costs denominated in dollars and dependent on stable power infrastructure,  Dr. Orji said the procedure remains expensive for many Nigerian women. Nonetheless, he reiterated that the option offers important reproductive flexibility, especially as more women pursue higher education, career advancement and financial stability before starting families