If you’ve been thinking about freezing your eggs, you’ve probably done the late-night Instagram scrolls, read the forums and spoken to friends who’ve gone through it. Yet the number-one thing most women want to understand is simple: What actually happens, and what does it feel like?
At Create Fertility, we believe clarity is empowering. Below is a walk-through of each stage, showing you exactly what to expect when you choose to preserve your fertility.
1. Your First Consultation: Understanding Your Fertility Picture
Your journey begins with a one-on-one consultation with a fertility specialist. This appointment is part conversation, part assessment. It’s a space where you can explore your reasons for considering egg freezing and understand your current ovarian reserve.
You’ll discuss your medical history, lifestyle and family goals, and go through any questions you may have. Your specialist may recommend some initial tests, with a follow-up appointment to review the results and talk through your options in more detail.
It’s also when you receive guidance on whether egg freezing aligns with your personal timeline and hopes for the future. If you decide it’s the right step for you, the process can often begin with your next menstrual cycle.
2. Ovarian Stimulation: Encouraging Multiple Eggs to Grow
Over roughly two weeks, you’ll take daily hormone injections designed to gently stimulate your ovaries. In a natural cycle, your body matures one egg. With medication, several eggs can mature at once. This gives you the best chance of collecting a sufficient number of eggs in a single cycle.
Your fertility nurses will guide you through administering the needles at home and support you throughout.The injection is a very fine needle placed just under the skin. It’s very normal to feel nervous at first, but most women quickly settle into the rhythm. You’ll come in for regular monitoring appointments so we can check how your follicles are developing and adjust treatment if needed.
3. Trigger Shot and Timing: Preparing for Collection
When ultrasound monitoring shows your follicles have reached the ideal size, you’ll receive instructions to take what’s called a ‘trigger shot’.
This final injection is timed precisely, roughly 36 hours before your egg collection. It helps your eggs complete their final stage of maturation so they’re ready for retrieval.
4. Egg Collection: A Short Procedure Under Light Sedation
Egg retrieval is done in hospital under light sedation, meaning you’ll be asleep and comfortable throughout. You won’t feel or remember anything.
The procedure typically takes 15 minutes. Using a fine needle guided by ultrasound, your fertility specialist gently collects the fluid from the follicles in each ovary. After a short stay in recovery, you’re able to go home, although you will need someone to drive you due to the sedation.
Many women describe this day as surprisingly straightforward, with some experiencing mild bloating or cramping that settles quickly.
5. Laboratory Assessment: Selecting Mature Eggs
In the Create Fertility lab, our specialist embryologists carefully examine each egg. Mature eggs (the ones capable of being fertilised in the future) are identified and prepared for freezing.
This meticulous assessment is a crucial part of the process and directly informs your overall usable egg count for the cycle.
6. Vitrification: Freezing Your Eggs Safely for the Future
All mature eggs are frozen using a rapid-cooling method called vitrification. This technique prevents ice crystals from forming and has become the gold standard because of its high egg survival rates when thawed.
Your eggs are then stored securely on-site in liquid nitrogen tanks, for when you choose to use them. They remain the same age and quality as the day they were frozen, one of the key reasons women choose egg freezing as part of their future-planning strategy.
A Gentle, Supported Journey
While egg freezing is medical, it’s also deeply personal. Many women considering it are navigating busy careers, dating uncertainty, relationship planning or simply wanting more time before making decisions about family. Our role is to guide you clearly and compassionately, so you feel informed every step of the way.
If you’re exploring whether egg freezing is right for you, learning about the process is a powerful place to start. You don’t have to navigate it alone. Whenever you are ready, we are here for you.
