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You might be surprised to know that the egg freezing process only takes a few weeks from beginning to end. But while the cycle itself is pretty quick, there are a few steps that you’ll need to take before you can get there. Thankfully, you can help expedite the process by preparing for your egg freezing cycle—and if you’re freezing your eggs, you’re probably the kinda woman who likes to be prepared.

Here are five steps you can take now to prepare for your egg freezing cycle:

1. Think about your family goals.

You’re not ready to have a baby now, but have you thought about when you will—and how many children you might like to have, one day? Wanting one child versus wanting a big family of three, four, or more kids can significantly affect the egg freezing target your doctor sets for you. In a similar vein, if you’re pretty sure you want to get pregnant around 35, that might mean a different target plan than if you’re sure you’ll be waiting until you’re over 40—not to mention a different long-term egg freezing storage plan.

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Please keep in mind that none of these choices are “wrong.” They simply affect your treatment plan in different ways, so they’re important to think about as you prepare for egg freezing. Also, you don’t need to have all the answers right now. Just by starting to think about this, you can help promote a more proactive, productive discussion with your doctor.

2. Understand your insurance coverage.

Unfortunately, though fertility benefits have been shown to help employees feel grateful, loyal, and committed to their work, over 50% of employers’ insurance plans don’t cover infertility treatments or egg freezing.

However, you won’t know what they do cover unless you ask. So step two of preparing for egg freezing should be talking to your insurance provider to understand whether your plan will cover your treatment and/or your medications (which could save you $2,000–$5,000). This step will also help you prepare for egg freezing step three: exploring your payment options.

Follow these steps to talk to your insurance provider about egg freezing coverage.

3. Explore your payment and financing options.

Extend Fertility has made egg freezing possible for more women by offering this game-changing service for under $5,000—less than half the national average cost (not including medication and long-term storage).

Learn more about egg freezing costs at Extend Fertility.

Plus, you have options for completing your payment as you’re preparing for your first egg freezing cycle. (Egg freezing is all about options, right?!) You can pay in full with cash or credit, or set up a monthly payment plan with one of our financing partners for your cycle, medications, and/or storage. If the monthly plan is for you, you’ll need to complete a financial application—so make sure that’s part of your plan as you prepare for egg freezing.

Learn more about egg freezing financing options.

4. Check off your checklist testing.

The good news: you can start to prepare for egg freezing before you even come in for your first consultation! Your checklist testing—a series of screenings and blood tests that need to be completed before you can start your egg freezing cycle—can actually be done any time in the 12 months prior to your cycle. Plus, they can typically be performed by your OB/GYN or primary care doctor, making preparing for your egg freezing cycle even easier.

We want to make sure that you’re in completely good health before you start any kind of medical treatment—that’s just health care 101. These screening tests help us ensure that. But also, because the egg freezing process requires our lab to handle your human tissues (your eggs), there are regulations in place that require you to get some tests, like HIV and hepatitis screenings, done before that happens.

See the full list of egg freezing checklist testing.

If you haven’t had these tests done in a while, don’t stress! We can always perform them in our office or write you an order to get them done at a lab as your prepare for egg freezing.

5. Consider your calendar.

One important step in deciding to freeze your eggs is deciding when to freeze your eggs. Sooner’s always better, but it’s important that you’re able to complete all the steps involved in the egg freezing process on time so that your treatment is effective—egg freezing is all about timing. Consider any upcoming scheduling conflicts, like travel, work, or social commitments, that might make this process inconvenient. As you prepare for egg freezing, share this with our healthcare team so they can ensure you start your cycle at the optimum time for you.

Read more about deciding to freeze your eggs.


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