Scarlette Douglas has described freezing her eggs as the 'best decision she's ever made' as she opened up about her fertility journey.
The A Place In The Sun star, 37, underwent the procedure earlier this year to take the 'stress' and 'pressure' off herself to find a relationship and start a family before her 'body clock gets old'.
Scarlette said she now feels like a 'weight has been lifted off her shoulders' as she is currently not in a serious relationship and now doesn't have to 'rush' into anything.
The ITV presenter exclusively told MailOnline that she is feeling 'great' following the procedure as she openly discussed her journey.
She said: 'I feel great, I feel good, I feel like there's no pressure on me. I don't have to stress and worry about the fact that I'm 37, it's kind of been lifted off my shoulders like, "Oh I've not got a time limit anymore, which is amazing".
Scarlette Douglas has described freezing her eggs as the 'best decision she's ever made' as she opened up about her fertility journey
The A Place In The Sun star, 37, underwent the procedure this year to take the 'stress' and 'pressure' off herself to find a relationship and start a family before her 'body clock gets old'
'I'm now not rushing and not thinking, "Oh I need to get with a guy and make silly mistakes with the wrong sort of people". Obviously it's a big decision to have children so you don't want to rush into it.
'It did take about a month out of me but it was definitely one of the best decision I've made and it's something that I would say to other women to at least look into.'
The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star revealed that despite being a 'career driven women', she was still keen to 'future proof' her plans to one day have children.
Scarlette told MailOnline: 'I'm 37 now, which I know is still young but I guess for women we have a kind of body clock so that's getting quite old.
'They say at the age of 35 your egg count and the quality of the eggs start to diminish and just kind of decline.
'So for me, I figured I'm a career driven woman, I don't have a partner yet where we're talking about having kids and whatnot so, let me kind of safeguard and future proof it.
'This way any children I might want to have at a later date, I've frozen my eggs and know that at least I've got a backup option if I don't meet someone and do it the traditional conventional way.'
Scarlette revealed she underwent the procedure at Harley Street Fertility Clinic which took in total nearly two weeks.
Scarlette exclusively told MailOnline that she feels like a 'weight has been lifted off her shoulders' as she is currently not in a serious relationship and now doesn't have to 'rush'
She said: 'I feel great, I feel good, I feel like there's no pressure on me. I don't have to stress and worry about the fact that I'm 37, it's kind of been lifted off my shoulders'
'It did take about a month out of me, it is intense, but just for that period of time and it was definitely one of the best decision I've made and it's something that I would say to other women to look into'
According to Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) egg freezing and thawing can cost an average between £7,000-£8,000 and eggs can be stored for a maximum of 55 years.
HEFA states that the success rates for frozen eggs, numbers tend to be quite low but due to the technology for egg freezing improving over the years older data isn’t comparable to current success rates.
Scarlette admitted it is an 'intense' few weeks but once the procedure is over their is nothing to 'worry' about and she urged more women to 'talk about' egg freezing.
The presenter explained: 'Overall I would say book out about a month in your schedule, it took from injecting, to the eggs coming out about two weeks, maybe 10 days, it's not too bad exactly, but they do monitor you as you go.
'I got it done at the Harley Street Fertility Clinic and they were brilliant and they really took their time and they really made sure they kept monitoring me with different scans and blood tests.
'It sounds like it's a lot and it is intense, but it's just intense for that period of time you're doing it. Afterwards it kind of settles and your eggs are out and they're in the freezer and you don't have to worry about them.
'I know it's very expensive but there are ways that you can do it where there are payment plans, but if anybody's thinking about it, just ask the question.
'Reach out to me or have a look online and have a consultation with a nurse or a doctor because I think it's something that if we can do, we should or at least we should be talking about.'
At the start of April, Scarlette took to social media to breakdown the cost of the fertility treatment for fans.
She wrote: 'Omg I feel a million times better today! Rest and water have been my best friend! Thanks for all of your get well soon messages xx
'Here’s the full cost breakdown: Consultation £250, Female Fertility Scan £300, Health Scan £250, Provera Hormone tablets £10 (2packs at £5 each), 2x 36 mcg pens £600 (£300 each), 1x 72 mcg pen £600
Meriofert (powder w/water injection) £210 (7x £30), One egg freezing cycle £3700, 2x trigger injection (2 powders at £60 each) £120, 5x post injections £150 (£30 each), 8 post tablets (1 tub) £10 < this one could be wrong as I can’t find the receipt so don’t quote me!
'*Forgot Progynova this is the HRT I took at the beginning I think it was £10, *Correction* Total £6210. Minus £300 for referrals and Grand total £5910 give or take.'
In March Scarlette was left in tears during a hospital visit as she started her fertility journey.
She admitted it is an 'intense' few weeks but once the procedure is over their is nothing to 'worry' about and she urged more women to 'talk about' egg freezing
The star took to Instagram and told how she was in hospital for an egg-retrieval procedure that left her feeling emotional.
She told her followers: 'Well, I'm going to be honest, I was very uncomfortable going in today ladies.
'The trigger injection really did exacerbate the bloating and lower abdominal pain and the closer it was getting to my egg retrieval the more uncomfortable I was becoming. I had to sit on my left side for most of the day!'
Scarlette told how she became teary ahead of the procedure because no one could accompany her.
She wrote: 'Everything was explained thoroughly and I felt in good hands. I did shed a little tear just before the sedation went in, mainly because I was scared and nervous, but also because you have to do it all on your own; no one can come in with you.
'Anyway, best sleep I’ve ever had, came out, was in pain so they gave me some more pain relief, hung around for roughly an hour and a half afterwards and just as I was ready to leave the recovery room, I was told of my 24 eggs that were collected, 19 were viable for freezing!!!!! I was over the moon!
'That was more than I could have ever imagined and so I was and am so so happy that, to this point, it has all been worth it.'
What is egg freezing and how much does it cost?
According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA): 'A woman’s chances of conceiving naturally fall as she gets older because the quality and number of her eggs drops.
'Egg freezing can be an attempt to preserve fertility by freezing the eggs when the woman is young and the eggs are of the highest quality.
'It involves collecting a woman’s eggs, freezing them and then thawing them later on so they can be used in fertility treatment.'
HEFA also states women starting the IVF process will have to take specific drugs to boost their egg production before they are collected under general anaesthetic.
Instead of mixing the eggs with sperm - as in conventional IVF - a cryoprotectant (freezing solution) will be added to protect the eggs and they will be stored until they are thawed and those that have survived will be injected with your partner’s or donor’s sperm.
Most patients under 38 years of age will have on around 7-14 eggs collected but there is no guarantee how many will survive the egg thawing.
HEFA states that egg freezing and thawing costs an average of £7,000-£8,000.
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