30.2
30.7
Average age |
28.95 |
28.8 |
27.9 |
27.2 |
26.6 |
27.3 |
28.1 |
29 |
1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Decade
Figure 2 . Average age that women have had children through the decades from the 1930s to the 2020s .
Women are having children later , with the average age gradually increasing from 26.6 years old in the 1970s to 30.7 years old in the 2020s ( Figure 2 ) [ 5 ] . There has also been an increase in the number of people choosing to have their eggs frozen [ 6 ] .
age < 38
age > 42
onco fertility
> 20 oocytes
> 120 oocytes
Additional determinants *
* Severity of disease Limited time for oocyte collection Contraindicated use of gonadotrophins Non-conventional ovarian hyperstimulation protocols Variable oocyte maturation efficiencies
Figure 3 . Average number of oocytes ( immature eggs / ova ) used prior to achieving a successful pregnancy . ' Onco fertility ' refers to patients undergoing egg freezing because of cancer treatment . Figure adapted from Plancha and Kovačič [ 9 ] .
Advances in technology , such as rapid freezing or vitrification , means that the viability rates of frozen eggs are almost as high as those of fresh eggs [ 7 ] . Prior to July 2022 , eggs could be stored for only a maximum of 10 years , but a change under the Health and Care Act 2022 [ 8 ] means that eggs can now be frozen for more than 55 years , which means that a person can freeze their eggs earlier . Usually , the younger the person is , the lower the number of eggs are used before a successful pregnancy is achieved ( Figure 3 ) [ 9 ] .
Relevance to veterinary nurses
In 2021 , 96 % of new registrants to the veterinary nursing profession were women [ 10 ] . With such a high percentage of VNs being women , it is possible that many people working in veterinary practice will have a colleague or employee who is going through fertility treatment . The treatment can be taxing – physically , mentally and emotionally – on top of the similar stresses already imposed on VNs by our profession . By understanding more about fertility procedures , we can promote workplace discussion , improve support and facilitate appropriate work-related adjustments and entitlements , as required .
An overview of the process
The process entails a few stages prior to your eggs being frozen ( Figure 4 ), which you would also go through if you were planning in vitro fertilisation ( IVF ). However , if , like me , you just want to freeze your eggs , then the egg-fertilisation and embryo-implantation stages of the IVF process are delayed until the future .
14 Veterinary Nursing Journal