Hi everyone. I'm 29, single, and I want to have children before I'm 35, whether or not I'm with a partner. Yesterday I had a fertility assessment because I wanted to double check all was OK fertility-wise, and I've been trying to decide if egg freezing makes financial sense for my situation or if I should just monitor annually instead.
My results:
- AFC: 21
- Scan showed everything healthy and normal
- Regular periods, clear ovulation signs
- No family history of fertility issues or early menopause
- Waiting on AMH results (due Wednesday) but doctor said it will likely correlate with the scan findings
Financial situation:
- One cycle has been quoted as £6,000 (including medication etc) - I am in a successful but not particularly lucrative career, I've just bought my first house on my own, so I would likely either need a payment plan, help from parents and/or a loan
- Realistically would need 2 cycles for enough eggs (£12k+)
- Then storage fees (£350/year)
- Then another £5-8k to actually use them later via IVF
- Total: £17-25k all in (I know there are some cheaper clinics but basically we’re looking at £10k minimum)
I'd honestly rather save that money towards potentially doing IUI or IVF, if needed, when I'm actually ready to try, and for solo parenting costs if I'm single at 33/34. My preference is obviously to meet someone, and I am actively dating currently (and seeing someone who also wants kids), but my Type A brain is trying to plan for all possibilities, as my priority in life has always been to have a child.
My questions:
- Does it make more sense to just get yearly AMH tests to monitor my reserve instead, and just focus on saving for possible solo motherhood - to make sure that can happen? (£85/year vs £6k+ now)
- At what point would egg freezing actually be worth it for someone in my situation?
- For those who froze eggs 'just in case' - do you feel it was worth the cost?
The clinic was really pushing egg freezing (I’m sure it’s very profitable for them), but given my timeline (I want a baby before I'm 35) and good results so far, I'm not convinced it's the right choice - especially as, if I did become a solo mum by choice, I would probably only be planning to have one baby due to financial constraints. Would appreciate any perspectives. Thank you!