The big freeze : a reporter's personal journey into the world of egg freezing and the quest to control our fertility / Natalie Lampert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lampert, Natalie, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ovum--Cryopreservation--Popular works.

Ovum.

Fertilization in vitro, Human--Popular works.

Fertilization in vitro, Human.

Human reproductive technology--Popular works.

Human reproductive technology.

Human reproduction--Age factors.

Human reproduction.

Cryopreservation of organs, tissues, etc--Social aspects.

Cryopreservation of organs, tissues, etc.

Fertility, Human--Social aspects.

Fertility, Human.

Fertility Preservation.

Fertilization in Vitro.

Reproductive Techniques, Assisted.

Fertility.

Age Factors.

Social Perception.

Medical Subjects:

Fertility Preservation.

Fertilization in Vitro.

Reproductive Techniques, Assisted.

Fertility.

Age Factors.

Social Perception.

Physical Description:

xviii, 409 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Ballantine Books, [2024]

Summary:

"Ovaries. Most women have two; journalist Natalie Lampert has only one. Then, in her early twenties, she almost lost it, along with her ability to ever have biological children. Doctors urged her to freeze her eggs, and Lampert started asking questions. The Big Freeze is the story of Lampert's personal quest to investigate egg freezing, as well as the multibillion-dollar femtech industry, in order to decide the best way to preserve her own fertility. She attended flashy egg-freezing parties, visited high-priced fertility clinics, talked to dozens of women who froze their eggs, toured the facility in Italy where the technology was developed, and even attended a memorial service for thousands of accidentally destroyed embryos. What was once science fiction is now simply science: Fertility can be frozen in time. Between 2009 and 2022, more than 100,000 women in the United States opted to freeze their eggs. Along with in vitro fertilization, egg freezing is touted as a way for women to "have it all" by conquering their biological clocks, in line with the global trend of delaying childbirth. A generation after the Pill, this revolutionary technology offers a new kind of freedom for women. But does egg freezing give women real agency or just the illusion of it? A personal and deeply researched guide to the pros, cons, and many facets of this wildly popular technology, The Big Freeze is a page-turning exploration of the quest to control fertility, with invaluable information that answers the questions women have been afraid to ask -- or didn't know they should ask in the first place."-- Publisher's description.

"A fascinating investigation into the lucrative, minimally regulated, fast-growing industry of egg freezing, from a young reporter on a personal journey into the world of cutting-edge reproductive medicine"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

Part I: The consultation. Young, fertile, and fabulous

An intimate geography

Egg freezing's rise

Part II: The orientation. Hacking our hormones

Why women freeze

Optimizing fertility

Not our bodies, not ourselves

Part III: The stimulation. Ready, set, trigger shot

The femtech revolution

Ovaries in overdrive

Part IV: The retrieval. Scar tissue

Fertility-industrial complex

Great eggspectations

Part V: The freeze. Unviable

Reproduction reimagined

A journalist and her ovary.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 353-389) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Lampert, Natalie. Big freeze

ISBN:

9781524799380

1524799386

OCLC:

1376496779