Latest news with #Syrtash
Sydney Morning Herald
26-06-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Career first, kids later. But is egg freezing really the answer?
I've always had a visceral relationship with time. I want to live a thousand lives in one, enriched with experiences of all kinds. My 20s were about travel and freedom; my early 30s about building my business and moving to New York City. Once I turned 35, that was my cue to start our fertility journey. As ambitious career women, we're told we have time, especially with modern science. Build your career, travel the world, buy a house and get married then have kids. But life (and reproduction) isn't always linear. Enter egg freezing. Is it a way for women to 'have it all' – the career, the financial security and the perfect timing – or is there more to it? According to IVF Australia, there has been a 1500 per cent increase in the number of women in Australia and New Zealand freezing their eggs in the past decade, a figure which has doubled in the past three years alone. Andrea Syrtash, a relationship expert and founder of infertility platform pregnantish, believes egg freezing is a good option for career women, but with the caveat that it's not guaranteed. 'Egg retrievals aren't a walk in the park, and I would never gloss over the emotional, physical and financial weight. That said, if you look at a bigger cost benefit, if you want to be a parent in the future, and you're single and focused on your career, it's an empowering step,' Syrtash said. She predicts egg freezing will be a graduation gift, it will be so commonplace. Syrtash surveyed over 800 people in the pregnantish community and one of the top regrets is that they didn't pursue fertility preservation. 'But if you're 45 and you kick yourself that you didn't freeze your eggs 15 years ago, rest assured, the technology and the way in which specimens are frozen now wasn't as effective back then,' Syrtash says. Women tend to blame themselves for not knowing sooner. This was certainly the case for me. I felt guilt and grief, for putting other life goals as a feminist ahead of fertility.
The Age
26-06-2025
- Health
- The Age
Career first, kids later. But is egg freezing really the answer?
I've always had a visceral relationship with time. I want to live a thousand lives in one, enriched with experiences of all kinds. My 20s were about travel and freedom; my early 30s about building my business and moving to New York City. Once I turned 35, that was my cue to start our fertility journey. As ambitious career women, we're told we have time, especially with modern science. Build your career, travel the world, buy a house and get married then have kids. But life (and reproduction) isn't always linear. Enter egg freezing. Is it a way for women to 'have it all' – the career, the financial security and the perfect timing – or is there more to it? According to IVF Australia, there has been a 1500 per cent increase in the number of women in Australia and New Zealand freezing their eggs in the past decade, a figure which has doubled in the past three years alone. Andrea Syrtash, a relationship expert and founder of infertility platform pregnantish, believes egg freezing is a good option for career women, but with the caveat that it's not guaranteed. 'Egg retrievals aren't a walk in the park, and I would never gloss over the emotional, physical and financial weight. That said, if you look at a bigger cost benefit, if you want to be a parent in the future, and you're single and focused on your career, it's an empowering step,' Syrtash said. She predicts egg freezing will be a graduation gift, it will be so commonplace. Syrtash surveyed over 800 people in the pregnantish community and one of the top regrets is that they didn't pursue fertility preservation. 'But if you're 45 and you kick yourself that you didn't freeze your eggs 15 years ago, rest assured, the technology and the way in which specimens are frozen now wasn't as effective back then,' Syrtash says. Women tend to blame themselves for not knowing sooner. This was certainly the case for me. I felt guilt and grief, for putting other life goals as a feminist ahead of fertility.
