Fertility provider Genea reports 40pc rise in egg-freezing during pandemic

A leading fertility provider has reported a 40 per cent rise in egg freezing requests as the pandemic robbed single women of almost two years of eligible dating time

With their dating lives left at the mercy of months of lockdowns, scores of single women are securing the best shot at motherhood by freezing their eggs while they wait for the right man and the right time.

Fertility provider Genea ­reported a 40 per cent increase in egg freezing nationwide in 2020-2021, compared with 2018-2019, with women aged 35 to 39 the most popular ­consumers.

Although egg freezing is no guarantee of a successful pregnancy, women are not afraid to fork out thousands on the treatment for peace of mind.

A fertility Clinic's frozen egg storage tanks with liquid nitrogen. Picture: David Kelly

“A lot of people have missed family and friends and community and have really thought about what they’d like to see in their future,” Genea general manager Kathleen Waite said. “(It has) made them want to be proactive and think what can I do to have control over that.

“Women have told us it’s ­really empowering. When they are in their mid-to-late 30s and feeling anxiety about am I going to meet Mr Right, it takes the pressure off them.

“It’s not a guarantee but something they have in their back pocket.”

Among the cohort of women was Bachelor finalist and podcast host Brittany Hockley. Hockley said she began the process when she was “33, been single for a ­decade and not even close to a having a boyfriend”.

But by the time she had the procedure she was in the early days of her romance with tennis star Jordan Thompson.

Former Bachelor finalist Brittany Hockley has gone through the egg-freezing process. Picture: Richard Dobson

“I wanted to give myself the best chance to have the option when the time comes.

“It was such a weight off my shoulders … I know I’ve done everything I could have to put myself in the best position,” she said.

The Life Uncut host said when she first researched the process, she found that plenty of women were freezing their eggs in secret.

“A lot of women associate it with failure – like society has put this pressure on them to be 30 and married with kids and a picket fence,” she said.

Psychologist Lindsay Pearlman said the pressure to meet societal expectations had caused a lot of anxiety for women during the pandemic.

“People felt like their lives were put on hold and they are running out of time to meet that person,” she said.

“From an anxiety point of view, it’s really tough for a lot of women out there to follow those societal expectations in that perfect order.”