The Fertility Podcast: Expert Interviews and Real Life Stories

I was lucky enough to spend some time with Natalie from The Fertility Podcast.  She's fantastic!  I'm so encouraged by the work she's doing.  We had a great little chat about egg freezing, Chill and what's next in my life.

My piece of the interview starts at 10:10.  Take a listen and let me know what you think!

Fertility Authority Talks Chill

Chill:  A documentary film about the modern-day journey to motherhood

By Fertility Authority

Chill is a touching documentary about a single woman fighting to preserve her fertility and dreams of motherhood through egg freezing in her mid-thirties. Jennifer Frappier documented her feelings, thoughts, and experiences in the weeks leading up to her egg retrieval while also directing and producing the film.

"I made the decision to freeze my eggs to possibly extend my fertility," said Frappier.

During my egg freezing research I read a lot of stories with asterisks next to the woman’s name and there was never a photo. It was frustrating to me that women felt like they had to hide their identity. I wanted to document my experience to attach a face, a person, that people could identify with, to the egg freezing process.”

The film documents everything from her daily injections, monitoring ultrasounds, and other incidents, including a setback that threatened her success. Jennifer refers to the threat that caused her to have to stop the cycle and start again, as the “Monster Follicle”.

Eggsurance: Women Like You Follow-Up Interview

When I first started this project, I did an interview with Eggsurance about my egg freezing experience and the filming of Chill.  It's almost 4 years later, Chill is super close to being done and Brigitte has relaunched Eggsurance with an updated look and new content.  We took some time to do a follow-up interview. Check it out and let me know what you think!

My Eggsperience Interview

To be honest, life has kinda been kicking my ass the last couple months.  There have been roller coaster ride of challenges and changes, but a lot of good things are happening too:

• I adopted a smooth fox terrier puppy; his name is Judah.  
• My dream of becoming a 90's "fly girl" came to fruition thanks to French Horn Rebellion's new video "Foolin' Around".
• I had a milestone birthday. Woot!
• Chill is super close to being finished. It will be done THIS month.  Hooray!

I've also been meaning to post my egg freezing interview with Valerie Landis from Eggsperience.  We had a great chat.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

USC Fertility Talks Egg Freezing and Chill

Here's a little write up from USC Fertility about my egg freezing experience and Chill!

Chill Documentary Follows USC Fertility Patient Through Egg Freezing in Her 30s
by USC Fertility

"Her eggs were on the cover of the Los Angeles Times.  

You may recognize Jennifer Frappier, the lovely woman who decided to freeze her eggs when she was 36.  Dating but not betrothed, she opted for egg freezing and three years later has found her voice as a blogger and documentary filmmaker raising awareness for fertility preservation. 

After her initial research into egg freezing, Jennifer made and appointment with Dr. Kristin Bendikson with USC Fertility as a part of a fact-finding mission.  After learning more about the fertility treatment, Jennifer asked herself not 'Should I pursue egg freezing?' but 'Why wouldn't I?'

Why USC Fertility for Egg Freezing?

Jennifer says that her first impression was that USC Fertility is a family.  'Seeing the pictures of kids on the wall, having everyone treat me with kindness and respect, and even the woman who had taken my blood encouraged me and was part of my journey.'

Two weeks later, Jennifer started the egg freezing process.  That first cycle ended on the third day because of a dominant follicle that concerned Dr. Bendikson.  For Jennifer, the holiday season and her grandfather's health put plans on hold, but the next egg freezing cycle proceeded as planned. 

'It went super smooth -- no monster follicles!' she said.  'I felt this sense of euphoria; I was happy and excited.' She had the trigger shot, moved on to egg retrieval and woke up with 13 eggs, of which nine were mature. 

Nine were enough for Jennifer.  'I remember talking to my mom about having more eggs retrieved.  I asked myself:  Was there a number that would ever be enough?  That perspective helped me to feel content.'

Chill on Australia's Sunday Night

About a month ago, I was interviewed by PJ Madam from Sunday Night to be a part of an egg freezing segment called, To Freeze or Not to Freeze.  It aired in Australia this past Sunday night!

As you know, I believe it's very important for women to be informed that egg freezing is an option, do the research and make the best choice for themselves.

I'm so grateful to continue to be a part of the conversation and share my story.

Teenager Smeenager

Yep, this is me (and my hair)
when I was 17.

I remember myself as a teenager.  I was shy, incredibly unsure, afraid of almost everything and possessed the magical ability to blush instantaneously if a cute, teenage boy looked in my direction.  I had no idea who I was, never mind, who I wanted to be.  I was all over the place.  Who am I kidding?  I'm 39 and some days I still feel like I have no idea what the hell I'm doing in this life.

You know the one thing I've never doubted?  That I wanted to be a mother.

A friend sent me a link to an article about a transgender teen who chose to freeze her eggs before transitioning into a man.  After reading about Cole and watching the video, my first thought was, "Wow.  That's one brave kid."  I admire that at 18 years old, Cole knows who he is and who he wants to be.

Check out Cole's story and let me know what you think.

Front Page of the LA Times!

My eggs were on the front of the LA Times!  How cool is that?

Let's Discuss Egg Freezing -- Pass the Wine
by Mary MacVean

If you peeked in on a recent party at the Viceroy Santa Monica, you might have noticed that the guests, almost all female, were chatting quietly, hesitantly, in pairs or trios. This wasn't a group of good friends — Prosecco and hors d'oeuvres aside.

The women were there to consider an investment: spending thousands of dollars to retrieve and freeze their eggs in case they need them one day to try to become a parent.

Egg-freezing parties — this one called On Ice — are a thing now. The idea is that not enough women are thinking about this procedure and are not thinking about it soon enough.

"Everyone who can afford to freeze their eggs should freeze their eggs. Women should take this seriously," Dr. Vicken Sahakian said at the Viceroy hotel party. "The older you are, the more eggs you need. The older you are, the fewer eggs you produce."

Egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation, is neither a sure thing nor cheap — running $10,000 or more a cycle, not to mention hundreds of dollars a year in storage fees, and rarely covered by insurance or employers (Facebook and Apple being among the exceptions). And there is plenty of cultural debate over whether egg freezing takes advantage of women desperate to have a child or is a way to empower them.

But doctors and women who've done it call it insurance; women say it enables them to establish a career, travel or find the right partner before becoming a parent.

"It will be absolutely the greatest gift you can give yourself because it will give you the opportunity to create the family of your dreams, and you will never regret it," Dr. Carrie Wambach said at the Viceroy, where there was a raffle for free medication needed for the process.

At the Viceroy, and at parties on other nights at Boa Steakhouse on the Sunset Strip and in the Beverly Wilshire hotel, doctors explain the procedure and answer the nervous questions: I'm 39 — or 37 or 35. Is it too late? 

Me, EggBanxx and Fox11 News

I'm happy to share that I was a part of an egg freezing discussion with Egg Banxx and Fox11 this week.  Notice the title under my name this time. My eggs aren't just frozen, they're banked. Click here to watch the clip.

Hi, I Froze My Eggs....Too Soon?

Since I'm back on the dating scene, I've been thinking about if or when I should tell my future dates that I've frozen my eggs. Honestly, it's more when than if. Bringing up the egg freezing subject in general is tricky business. Never mind doing it when you're sitting across from a handsome guy with a beautiful smile that you've met 30 minutes ago. I'm getting anxiety replaying it...   

If I feel a connection, should I bring it up on the first date? If I tell him on the second date, is the evening going to turn into a biology lesson on the female reproductive system?  Yeah, that's real sexy. If I tell him on the third date, will there be a fourth date?  If I lob it out there on the fourth date, will he say, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Well, I didn't want you to think I have baby fever and I didn't want to talk about it too early! You see the challenges here?

Freezing Your Eggs? Tell Your Story!

Documentary about egg freezing is seeking candidates to share their egg freezing story.

Please email:

• Your egg freezing story.  What is different about your story than another person's?
• Full Name
• City, State, zip
• Email address
• Mobile number
• A short, 30 second cell phone video introducing yourself.

Email submissions here.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Health Smart on KTLA

I'm excited to share that I was a part of an egg freezing piece on KTLA's Health Smart.  My interview was short, but I was happy to share why I chose to freeze my eggs.  Oh, and I really like the "Froze Her Eggs" title below my name; it made me giggle.    

Click here to check out the KTLA5 segment.  Let me know that you think!  

Chill and ABC's 20/20 with Aditi Roy

It's been an amazing week!  Yesterday, I was interviewed by Aditi Roy from ABC's 20/20 to be a part of a segment on egg freezing.  The show will also feature clips from Chill!  It's been an exciting journey and I'm so thrilled to have the opportunity to share it with you! I'll keep you posted on the air date!

A huge thank you to those who have supported this project from the beginning:  Heidi Durrow, Lesa Lakin, Mandi Forehand, Justin Kuhn, Mary Peralta and last, but not least - my mom!

Facebook and Apple Offer Egg-Freezing "Benefit"

There's been a ton of talk in the last couple weeks regarding Facebook and Apple adding egg freezing, for non-medical reasons, to their long list of employee benefits.  In January 2014, under surrogacy benefits Facebook began covering the procedure up to $20,000. For Apple, the perk falls under fertility benefits, also covers up to $20,000 and begins January 2015.

How amazing is that?!

Since the news was announced, the egg freezing articles are popping up in my Google alert like no body's business. One afternoon, I ventured into the world below, the place they say to never go -- the comments section. Wow!  Mastin Kipp was right, "That IS where the real action happens."

Perusing through the comments (Man, people can be harsh!), two main themes struck me:

Chill and The Mixed Experience Podcast

Last Monday, I joined the lovely New York Times best-selling author, Heidi Durrow, as a guest on her podcast, The Mixed Experience.

She invited me to talk about my involvement in the Mixed community and share more about the egg freezing, movie-making journey that is Chill.

Click here to listen to the episode.  You can subscribe to the podcast for free on iTunes.

I'm also excited to let you know that I will be joining Heidi on some future episodes as a co-host! Stay tuned for more info.

Egg Freezing Has Gone Mainstream

Check out this two minute clip on how more woman in their late 20's to early 40's are choosing to freeze their eggs.

A few interesting quotes from the piece:

• "Bradshaw underwent a procedure to harvest and freeze her eggs, while continuing to search for Mr. Right...'I didn't want to give up that dream of having the kids and everything'."
• "Fertility experts across the country report a surge in healthy women choosing to put their eggs on ice, hoping to preserve their fertility for the future.  Dr. Eric Widra with the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology credits the bump to significant advances in freezing technology."
• Widra shares, "There are two primary ways that people freeze eggs. We've optimized both of these technologies to the point where experienced centers now see comparable success rates from eggs that were frozen from either method to those that are fertilized fresh."

Let me know what you think.

Chill in Grazia Magazine!

I'm excited to share that Chill was part of the article Egg Freezing?  Some Consider it a Sexual Revolution in the September 12th issue of Grazia, an Italian fashion magazine!

The original article (pic below) was in Italian, but with a little help from a friend, it's been translated to English.  Enjoy and let me know what you think! 

As someone who calls it the "second sexual revolution", disruptive as the first, triggered by birth control pills, others see it as "insurance for fertility", a "strategy to stop aging ".  We are talking about oocyte cryopreservation, a technique developed from medicine to postpone the possibility of becoming mothers.  Let's step back. Until now, in a woman's life, there were studies, the frantic search the "right job", career.  The engaged couple arrived, disappeared. Motherhood was a distant goal.  And the years passed. When it was decided to have a family, the children did not come. Why, yet not everyone knows that, with advancing

Egg Freezing: It's an Option

Recently I read an article in US News & World Report, Egg Freezing:  A New Frontier by Rachel Pomerance.  Here are some interesting snippets:

• "`Egg freezing is a way to be your own egg donor,' Grifo says."
• "`The younger the patient, the better the outcome - although most 20-year olds likely aren't worried yet about safeguarding their fertility.  If you're thinking about it, I think you should see somebody for a consultation,' he says, explaining that women who ruminate about it for five years wish they had acted five years ago."
• "A recent study by the Free University of Brussels in Europe found that among 86 women who had frozen their eggs, 96 percent said they would do it again, but 71 percent said they wish they'd done it sooner."
• "By 34, `if you know you're not going to have children within a few years, find the money and freeze...as you get older, you're gonna have to pay money for fertility at some point, so you might as well do it now when you have a good chance of lowering birth defect."

Let me know what you think.

Is it Time to Freeze Your Eggs?

I came across a a great blogpost by Jeannette Francis about becoming and adult (or postponing it for as long as humanly possible), motherhood and egg freezing.  It includes a great 5 minute video clip of fellow egg-freezer Sophie Ashton discussing her decision to freeze her eggs.

Here are a few interesting excerpts from the article:

How Age and Health Affect Fertility

 Here's a great little snippet on how age and health affect fertility.  

"The number of eggs steadily declines throughout  a woman's life whether she’s on birth control pills or pregnant, the eggs decline.  As a woman ages the number of healthy eggs decline so that at age 30 most of the eggs will be normal, but after age 38,  50% of the eggs will be abnormal. The chance of conceiving after 38 declines very much...For a woman who’s in her mid-thirties and in a committed relationship, go ahead and think about having a child sooner than later.  For those not in a committed relationship, egg freezing has become a real viability and it is not as costly as patients believe."

Check out this short interview with Reproductive Endocrinologist Robert Weiss.