When I was a teen, my friends and I baked in the sun while doused in baby oil. Now we know that my baby oil saturation habit was dangerous (not to mention pretty dumb) because the sun’s damaging rays can lead to skin cancer. These days, we wouldn’t head to the beach without throwing sunblock in our bag, and those of us who want to avoid a sunburn (and wrinkles) are vigilant about applying and reapplying sunscreen.
Just as there are preventative steps we can take to protect our skin from a burn or cancer—sunblock, shade, long sleeves, a hat with a wide brim—so, too, do protective options exist for our ovaries.
Oocyte cryopreservation, known as egg freezing, allows women to stop the clock on aging eggs by extracting, freezing, and storing them for potential fertilization in the future. My hope is that just as we instinctively slather on sunblock on a sunny day, more of us will start thinking of egg freezing as preventative medicine in consideration of what may be coming down the pike as our ovaries age.
Obviously, sunscreen can be bought at the corner store and sprayed on in 10 seconds, while egg freezing is a costly, time-consuming, more burdensome procedure. But the option of preserving younger, higher-quality eggs—especially as women are having babies later—can be life-changing. Nothing’s guaranteed; just as you may wear sunblock and still get a burn or even wind up with skin cancer, not all women who freeze eggs have successful outcomes. Nonetheless, medical advances like egg freezing are highly successful in allowing us to keep the option of having genetic children before infertility inevitably kicks in.
I wish more young men and women knew about the relatively new options in the realm of fertility preservation, including embryo freezing. Even those who may never elect to go down this path should be informed about the advances and the possibilities that exist. Personal reasons for choosing to freeze eggs or embryos could include waiting to find the right partner, establishing one’s career, or simply cherishing reproductive autonomy under any circumstances. Medical reasons might include cancer that affects fertility, ovarian surgery, endometriosis, autoimmune diseases, or genetic mutations.
Egg freezing has gotten more than 117 million views on TikTok to date, which tells me people are seeking accessible information about what this process entails and why it may be worth considering. I’m not convinced they’re always prioritizing the most scientifically sound information when scrolling social media—but that’s what I aim to provide here.
For years, elective egg freezing carried skepticism. Early adopters—what I call the OG egg freezers—were often in their 40s, using the procedure as a last-ditch effort before fertility declined completely. Unsurprisingly, success rates were limited. We now know that freezing eggs later in life, when quality has already diminished, is like applying sunscreen after you’re already burned.
As younger women began freezing eggs, outcomes improved dramatically. Nationwide data shows an 800-fold increase in egg freezing cycles from the early 2010s to the 2020s. A large 2022 NYU study reported a 70 percent live birth rate for women who froze eggs before age 38. Younger eggs require fewer numbers to achieve similar success, meaning the earlier you freeze, the more “mileage” you get from each egg.
So why don’t more people do it?
Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have. At birth, most have 1–2 million eggs. By puberty, that number drops to roughly 350,000–500,000. By age 25, nearly 80 percent are gone. By 35, about 95 percent of usable eggs have disappeared. And the eggs that remain decline not just in quantity, but in quality.
At age 30, the chance of conceiving each month is about 20 percent. By 40, it drops to roughly 5 percent. These are not opinions; they are biological facts.
I love aging. Truly. I feel wiser, more grounded, and more confident with each passing year. But when it comes to eggs, younger is better. I’m just the messenger. That’s why I encourage people to think of egg freezing not as a last resort, but as preventative medicine—something to consider before fertility plummets.
I often explain fertility decline using a skiing analogy. In your 20s and early 30s, you’re on the bunny hill—smooth, forgiving, and easy. Around 35, you hit steeper slopes with unexpected bumps. By your late 30s, you’re navigating double-blues, and by 40, you’re hurtling down black diamonds. Some people stay on easier terrain longer; others encounter steep drops early. There are no guarantees.
Unlike skiing, though, there’s no lodge to retreat to. Even if you’re on birth control, pregnant, or breastfeeding, egg decline continues. The only way to press pause—to step off the mountain—is by freezing eggs or embryos.
What’s tricky is that your body rarely sends warning signs when fertility is waning. Blood tests and ultrasounds can estimate egg quantity, but they can’t predict egg quality or future success. This uncertainty is deeply unsettling for many high-achieving women who are used to controlling outcomes through effort and discipline. Fertility doesn’t work that way.
I’ve seen women who eat clean, run marathons, never miss a checkup—and still face early ovarian aging. Fertility challenges don’t always correlate with overall health. I was in excellent health when I developed breast cancer in my 30s. The same unpredictability applies here.
And yet, we spend enormous time and money trying to slow visible aging—creams, serums, lasers, injections—often for modest results. What confounds me is how hesitant some women are to consider a proven technology that freezes time for their eggs, even as they invest heavily in external anti-aging rituals.
Egg freezing isn’t right for everyone, and it’s not a guarantee. But when done at the right time, it can be a powerful tool for preserving reproductive choice. Increasingly, women are getting that message. As fertility benefits expand and stigma fades, egg freezing has shifted from a desperate last resort to an empowered first option.
These innovations allow women to own their fertility—period. And while not every story ends with a baby, what I hear most often from patients is not regret, but gratitude. Gratitude for having options. Gratitude for trying. Gratitude for refusing to live with a lifetime of “what if.”
Just as we wear sunscreen not because it guarantees we’ll never get burned, but because it’s a smart, proactive choice, I believe more of us should consider fertility preservation through the same lens. Knowledge is power. Proactivity is freedom. And owning your fertility—whatever path you choose—is one of the most radical acts of self-care there is.
Excerpted from Own Your Fertility From Egg Freezing to Surrogacy, How to Take Charge of Your Body and Your Future by Jaime Knopman, MD, FACOG with Rebecca Raphael. Countryman Press, (Out January 13 , 2026)