Fertility Options for Down the Road

Waiting to have a child is a personal choice. Sometimes women prefer to wait and have a baby to coincide with values and responsibilities, like pursuing a career or other life goals, along with finding a partner.

Other times, a cancer diagnosis may stand in the way of a pregnancy. Many reasons exist for waiting to have a baby. The longer a woman waits to conceive, the more difficult it may be for her to become pregnant, and the more likely it is for health problems to negatively impact pregnancy.

Due to these factors, it is critical for a woman to stay in open communication with her doctor about her fertility expectations and desires—and plan proactively.

For a woman who has the desire and financial resources to store her eggs—or embryos, if there is a suitable sperm donor—she may choose to talk with her primary care provider or gynecologist about setting these resources aside.

While these options remain costly—with egg retrieval starting at about $10,000—they do present possible solutions that have a better chance of success if secured during earlier years, as opposed to waiting until a woman is in her late 30s or early 40s, or when a woman is ready for motherhood.

 Are You Ready for Parenthood?

Fertility risk is one of many considerations to ponder about parenthood. Other things include:

• Does your salary and/or savings give you the financial means to adequately provide for a baby? What are your options for healthcare? Will your current living space accommodate another person, or will you need to seek other living arrangements?
• Mental health. How do you handle stress? Do you have safe, healthy ways to engage with the world, without relying on substances that could harm your body and the possible health of your pregnancy? Your mental health is important to evaluate regularly, no matter if you have a life change ahead or not.

While we are all in the process of bettering ourselves and our world, taking financial and mental health checks could prove valuable, among many other considerations, when choosing if and when to start a family.  

Has it been a while since your last check-up, or do you need a new physician? Call us at 317.565.0535 to request an appointment.

Sources: familydoctor.org, pbs.org, helpguide.org, cdc.gov, marchofdimes.org, academic.oup.com, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, myoncofertility.org