Freeze your eggs or freeze your career?
Worth paying to read this recent The Washington Post article. My analysis:- Imagine a job where you’re mandated to undergo a series of invasive, expensive and potentially dangerous medical procedures to succeed? Inadvertently, it’s how many of our young female founders and career minded women are beginnig to feel.
The double-edged sword.
Having the choice and medical technology to expand options and buy time as a female founder is a new(ish) and empowering option but it’s not even remotely easy and most (mostly male) investors just don’t realise what additional challenges female entrepreneurs face in this regard, mentally and physically.
Delaying building relationships and families is a common side effect when getting a big dose of cash and building a business. Younger female entrepreneurs have to think about this all the time. Investors should be more aware of this supra-added issue over the ‘let’s do it later’ family planning trend. Is the empowering option to freeze also promoting risky delays while making the IVF industry thrive.
Who’s leading the way to solve this?
Brilliant female entrepreneurs focusing on women’s health and performance or reproductive longevity itself include Hélène Guillaume Pabis, Dr Helen O'Neill and Daisy Robinton, PhD are three of many brilliant entrepreneurs, and mothers, that come to mind who have chosen to fiercely pursue their family and founder dreams simultaneously building companies that will make life and better for women. That is putting your money where your mouth is, if ever you’ll see it. Worthy of WellFounded Health recognition for sure. Wild.AI, Hertility and Oviva Therapeutics, their three companies respectively are supported by mindful investors and teams. Not all such companies and teams are as supportive. So many I’ve missed.
And then there’s early Menopause and Gynae cancer too.
Marje Isabelle, my wife, is another example. She had double gynae cancer as an emergency cause, not her career or startup necessarily, for needing to freeze eggs. She too juggles building a family and building a business helping other women on their cancer-fertility journey plus dealing with after effects of major cancer treatment and menopause simultaneously! Check out ACT Above & Beyond - Cancer Navigation Services if you need any help navigating cancer concerns, fertility issues, egg freezing and more. </shameless_plug>.
Final thoughts:
This needs a lot more thought! The fact there are options more readily available for fertility preservation would have seemed like fantasy 100 years ago. But such, medically not risk free and not inexpensive advances needing routine consideration by women today if they are to thrive in their careers is a concern. Becoming a first time parent at 40-50 and a grandparent again at 80-90 was rare as hens teeth 100 years ago. Today it’s the norm.