Ocasio-Cortez explained that she normally keeps her life private but decided to talk about egg freezing because she felt there wasn’t enough easily accessible information about the process.
She said, “I have made the decision to start freezing my eggs. I want to share that with anyone who is because I was weighing it for a very long time and I think that I was saving for it for a very long time. There just isn’t a ton out there, I feel and sometimes it can feel very daunting.”
What is egg freezing and how does it work?
Egg freezing is a method in which a woman’s eggs are collected from the ovaries and stored for later use. It can give women the option of trying for a pregnancy at a later stage, but it does not guarantee a future pregnancy.
According to CNN, Dr Pardis Hosseinzadeh of Johns Hopkins Medicine explained that egg freezing generally works best when a woman is between 20 and 30, as egg number and quality usually decrease with age.
Before starting the process, a doctor checks the woman’s health, including her medical history, blood and hormone tests, and an ultrasound to determine the number of eggs available.
Women with certain health problems or a very low egg supply may not be suitable for the procedure.
If she is suitable, the woman is given hormone medicines that she injects for about two weeks. These medicines help the ovaries produce several eggs at the same time.
Doctors regularly use blood tests and ultrasounds to check how the eggs are developing.
Once the eggs are ready, another medicine is given to complete their maturation. About 36 hours later, the eggs are collected using ultrasound guidance in a procedure that typically takes 10 to 30 minutes.
Side effects
Ocasio-Cortez also shared a video of herself going through the egg-freezing process. She showed herself preparing the medicine and giving herself an injection, explaining that it can cause some pain or a burning sensation.
According to her, waiting for a short time after the injection may help reduce the burning sensation.
The injections can also cause other mild side effects, including mood changes, headaches, nausea or hot flashes. These symptoms usually stop after the hormone injections are completed.
In rare cases, the injections can cause a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. This occurs when the ovaries become swollen and fluid collects in the abdominal area. Doctors monitor patients during treatment to check how their bodies are responding to the medicines.