Dr Michelle Peate’s world first egg freezing “decision aid” tool in the news
Dr Michelle Peate from Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Royal Women’s Hospital was interviewed by Dea Clark for ABC News story about her online "decision aid" tool which will provide reliable information about egg freezing and offer guidance to women considering egg freezing.
There is a growing trend in developed countries for women to delay starting a family until their early 30’s or later. This delay can mean that some women miss the opportunity to have children due to age-related infertility. Egg freezing can offer women the option of delaying pregnancy and lower the risk of age-related infertility. And we are seeing rapidly increasing uptake of egg freezing in Australia and around the globe with wide-spread promotion by commercial providers.
However, making choices around egg freezing and family planning is complicated as there are health, financial and psychological implications for a procedure with no guarantee of success. Currently, women are relying on information from commercial providers and internet sources such unmoderated forums and blogs. There is a need for objective and evidence-based information to support decision-making.
The aim of this University of Melbourne study is to investigate how an interactive, online decision aid for women considering elective egg freezing can help women to make this difficult decision. This will be the first study to develop and evaluate a decision aid in the context of elective egg freezing. It is anticipated that the decision aid will empower women to make informed choices about egg freezing.
To find out more about The Evaluation of a Decision Aid for Women Considering Non-medical Egg Freezing project email: egg-freezing@unimelb.edu.au
Or if you would like to participate in this research, register your interest here: https://eggfreezing.org.au/register
A link to the article published on the ABC News website on 14 May 2019 can be found here:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-14/should-you-freeze-your-eggs/10896572