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What is the noblest of all deeds? It's the creation of life. And who creates us? If you say God, that might be an allegory, but a more direct and grounded answer would be - women, our mothers. Motherhood is the greatest gift for a woman, and there's no second opinion about that.
But every good thing comes with something that is not so good, if not bad. A large number of diseases have been arising lately which were never discovered or not considered to be of significant concern before. Such is the case with infertility. What once was a rare incident, occurring one in a hundred people or even less, is now almost a grave public health problem, a hidden pandemic in all senses. The situation is not bad; it's getting worse with every passing moment. And if you're reading this, we think it's safe to assume that you're just curious or, more likely, you are facing this very problem recently.
We know you have loads of questions bubbling up in your mind. Would you mind holding the horses for three or five minutes, maybe? Because when you finish reading this, you will have all the answers with you already. So, let's talk.
A bit of the basics: what is an "egg"?
The egg is the female germ cell or ovum. Well, in folk language, the egg is what you can call the female contribution to the baby, the feminine counterpart of sperm.
Every month, women of the reproductive age group start to bleed at a certain time. This is what you call a "period," or more scientifically, "menstruation ."After a few days following the period, the internal genitalia of the woman (the ovaries) produces one almost mature egg, waiting for the sperm to meet it and make a baby. As far as we know, alternate ovaries produce these eggs each month, so there is a balance in the production and resources. Not just this, a highly complicated network of hormones controls the timely release of eggs in each monthly cycle and the other internal uterine and cervical events that occur in a cycle, resulting in bleeding at the end.
But normal events are rarer than the ones where things go wrong, onto the bad stuff next.
The problem: a dreadful picture of infertility
Infertility is a term that common folks use to indicate someone trying to get pregnant or have a baby but failing. In medical terms, a couple who has been performing acts of intercourse regularly for the last year yet cannot have babies - is called an infertile couple.
Infertility is a disease concerning reproductive health and sexual practices. We'll discuss more about that later. But first, we need to know how big the problem is. You might think infertility is a modern gimmick coined by the new reproductive clinics and big pharma giants, but unfortunately, that's not the case. Infertility is very much a real threat to humankind. A recent report by WHO (World Health Organisation) shows an alarming scene. It says, "Around 17.5% of the adult population – roughly 1 in 6 worldwide – experience infertility, showing the urgent need to increase access to affordable, high-quality fertility care for those in need."
These new data reveal limited variation in the incidence of infertility between regions. The rates are almost comparable for high- and low-income countries, indicating that this is not a financial or regional issue but a global health challenge.
The reasoning: why does this happen?
Infertility is a pathology of manifold etiology. This is like a curse of the modern world. The main reasons that we usually know are:
- Excessive stress in work and personal life leads to hormonal disbalance and infertility.
- A sedentary lifestyle is one of the main villains that promote obesity and thus lead to infertility.
- Health issues like diabetes, hypertension, hyperthyroidism, high cholesterol levels, etc.
- Exposure to radiations damage ovaries and disrupts egg production. Same with the chemical toxins in an industrial set-up.
- Advanced age (over 35) pregnancy
The solution: Egg freezing
Egg freezing is storing the eggs or ova in a regulated environment to preserve them for a long time while maintaining their viability. Usually, eggs are laparoscopically collected from the ovaries or extracted using hormone induction injections. Then in a sterile closed container, these eggs are stored in a laboratory, chilled with liquid nitrogen at -176 degrees Celsius. Theoretically, this system is enough to preserve biological tissue for hundreds of years, so you know it'll be okay. And the good thing is when you take your eggs out, they will be in perfect condition and capable of getting fertilized by sperm, thus making babies. Whoa!
The verdict: how this Egg Freezing will help you
Egg freezing is an option that is super popular in most developed countries for the following reasons -
1. Plan beforehand
In your busy schedule, you might not be able to think about starting a family before 35, but that doesn't mean you've to compromise for being late. Preserve the prime quality egg cells produced when you're young and more healthy. You can use them later and have babies successfully.
2. Radiation therapy
Cervical cancer and breast cancers are the two most common malignancies globally. For cancer patients, if they want to conceive later, it is advisable to take out and store eggs before starting radiation therapy to avoid fetal anomalies and genetic disorders
3. Surgeries
In cancer patients or others requiring ovarian or tubal surgery, it'll be better to collect eggs beforehand and store them if they plan to conceive later.
4. IVF
This is the ultimate answer to the global pandemic of infertility. ART ( Assisted Reproductive Technology), like IVF (in vitro fertilization) or Artificial insemination, has helped countless infertile couples to have babies, finally, for IVF eggs are taken out, stored, and later fused with a husband or maybe, donors sperm cells to make a baby. This has an extremely high success rate. Nowadays, egg storing and IVF have both become pretty affordable in most cities. And after all, it's worth spending a little fortune to have joy for a lifetime.
Now you know the magnitude of the problem and what's the way out too. We don't see a reason to sit back and think.
Thinking gets you nowhere. Do it.
Contact your nearest gyne clinic or egg storage facility today!
Isreal olabanji a dental assistant and public health professionals and has years of experience in assisting the dentist with all sorts of dental issues.
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