Is egg freezing an option for Kenyan women?

Is egg freezing an option for Kenyan women? Photo: Courtesy.

For many women keen on pursuing their careers, getting pregnant might be the last thing on their minds. Some wish they could get children while they are younger and avoid the 'your clock is ticking' phrase.  However, with technology, fertility experts urge women who want to postpone giving birth until they are ready to embrace harvesting their eggs, a technology known as embryo freezing. Fertility expert Dr Joshua Noreh, the first doctor to successfully perform in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in Kenya, says most women are not bold enough to go through the process.

"In Kenya, the practice happens in principle, but in the developed countries it has taken root. Though we offer the service in our clinic, we have not seen women bold enough to try it. Biologically, women are born with a fixed number of eggs in their ovaries. As they age and with each menstrual cycle, eggs reduce in number and quality. This is particularly so when they hit the 35-year' mark, which means that beyond that age, chances of spontaneous conception are less while those of miscarriages are very high," says Dr Noreh.