Women in their late 30s are freezing their eggs because they have not yet found “Mr Right”, research indicates. Half of the women surveyed by a Belgian clinic presented at a fertility conference intended to freeze their eggs to take the pressure off finding a partner. A third froze their eggs as an “insurance policy” against infertility.

A separate UK survey found that many students would also consider the procedure to focus on a career before becoming a mother. This survey of nearly 200 students showed that eight in 10 studying medicine would freeze their eggs to postpone motherhood.

Younger, healthier eggs pose a higher chance of success, but many women currently freezing their eggs are in their late 30s and are doing it as a “last resort”. The process costs around £3,000 per cycle and some women may need to undergo as many as three cycles.

Dr Julie Nekkebroeck, speaking at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference, who carried out the small Belgian study of 15 women, also found that 27% wanted their relationship to blossom before they broached the topic of children. The average age of the women was 38, and they did not expect to use their eggs until around age 43.

"We found that they had all had partners in the past, and one was currently in a relationship, but they had not fulfilled their desire to have a child because they thought that they had not found the right man," she said. ~ BBC News, Jun 28