Latest in Tech Perks: Apple & Facebook Pay to Freeze Eggs

Women at Facebook and Apple can freeze their eggs for free, according to a recent report by NBC News. Theoretically, this delayed childbearing would give female professionals the choice to start a family even after her mid-30s, when a woman’s fertility generally starts to decline.

According to NBC, both Apple and Facebook cover the cost of egg freezing up to $20,000. Facebook already offers this benefit this year and Apple will start offering it in January 2015.

Isabel Platt, Celest Chen and Anna E. Mazzucco, Ph.D. of the National Center for Health Research (NCHR) explain the breakdown of cost in “Should women freeze their eggs?”

The average cost of one In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycle (the removal, fertilization, and implantation of a fertilized egg) is about $12,400.

Depending on the technology, the clinic, and the state, it can cost as much as $15,000 to extract and freeze the eggs, $10,000 for each IVF attempt, and up to $1,000 each year to store the eggs. These costs are dropping, and fertility clinics typically offer payment plans.

Experts Say the Most Important Risk with Egg Freezing is ‘False Hope’

The NCHR warns that perhaps the most important risk associated with egg freezing is false hope. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine considered egg freezing an “experimental” procedure until 2012.

While egg freezing is certainly a viable option, “it’s worth remembering that no matter how young a woman is when she freezes her eggs, her chances of becoming pregnant and successfully carrying a baby to term decreases as she gets older,” according to the  NCHR.

"The problem that egg freezing doesn’t solve is this: as a woman gets older, the chances of a fertilized egg being successfully implanted in her uterus drop,” according to a 2013 paper by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

NBC News reports that doctors recommend freezing at least 20 eggs for a greater chance of success down the road.

Proponents Say This is Great News for High-Achieving Females in Silicon Valley

Sonita Lontoh is a tech executive in Silicon Valley who has written and spoken extensively on the lack of women in tech.

"It gives high-achieving women even more flexibility to focus on their careers during their 'most crucial' career development period, without having to worry about having children," Lontoh says. "I think for those women who have not decided yet, or would like to delay having children by focusing on their careers first, this benefit give them more power, flexibility and choice and I think is great."

Egg freezing, in general, is an increasingly popular route for starting a family. "In New York and San Francisco,  according to NBC's Danielle Friedman, fertility doctors report a near doubling in requests for it over the past year alone.

Dr. Suzanne LaJoie, an ob-gyn in Manhattan, told BusinessWeek earlier this year that she did it to take the pressure off. “Men don’t have a biological clock, and I felt like it leveled the playing field a bit," LaJoie says.

Some Opponents Say that Better Maternity Care and Work-Life Balance is More Important 

While it's great to offer women more choices, some believe that the bigger problem causing the gender divide in tech is a lack of work-life-balance.

Opponents would rather see better maternity care and measures for work-life-balance to retain and attract female engineers.

Jeanine Swatton, technology Evangelist, iOS Developer and Ruby on Rails specialist, says Apple and Facebook's efforts are admirable, but don't quite solve the problems women are having by staying in tech. Childcare, for instance, is one of the biggest concerns. Investing in vacation time for women to spend with children or on-site childcare would be a better way to go, she says.

"This effort by Apple and Facebook is also sending a wrong message for women in tech - stating that having children is discouraged, while postponing their family plans is encouraged, therefore not emphasizing the important of work-life balance," Swatton says.

Here's a collection of Tweets arguing that work-life balance is more important:

@ibogost (and lets face it: "freeze your eggs so you can work more! And harder!" Is not exactly a likable reason)

— Kristina Rothe (@kris_rothe) October 14, 2014

 

So, just to be clear - Facebook will now pay for female employees to freeze their eggs, but no on-site childcare? http://t.co/mzynx4469h — Blair Reeves (@BlairReeves) October 14, 2014

 

Naw better maternity benefits would be great tho RT @itsfrankybaby: Ladies, would you let your company pay to freeze your eggs — Court, J.D. (@Miss_Furious) October 14, 2014

Sorry Apple/Facebook - Women should be able to have high-powered careers without delaying starting a family http://t.co/i22kzy9MWF — Phil Sanderson (@SanFranciscoVC) October 14, 2014

So instead of providing good work life balance Apple and Facebook will do whaaat - http://t.co/ncZjiPKpvE — Saurabh Garg (@saurabhg) October 14, 2014

Not sure I agree with this. How about first making working conditions more family friendly? http://t.co/FAFrFfa5A3 #apple #Facebook

— Himerus Health (@HimerusHealth) October 14, 2014

 

Read: 4 Problems Only Women Deal With in Silicon Valley