Technology giants Facebook and Apple have announced they will help pay for female employees to freeze their eggs.
Both companies will cover the cost of egg-freezing treatments up to $US20,000 for women who want to delay having children to stay in the workforce, NBC News reports.
The oocyte cryopreservation procedure can cost up to $US10,000, plus $US500 for storage each year.
“We continue to expand our benefits for women, with a new extended maternity leave policy, along with cryopreservation and egg storage as part of our extensive support for infertility treatments,” Apple said in a statement.
“We want to empower women at Apple to do the best work of their lives as they care for loved ones and raise their families.”
Facebook began their program in January of this year, and Apple will begin offering payments early next year.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average age of mothers in this country is 30.7.
Professor Bill Ledger, an IVF Australia fertility specialist, said there is so much discussion about women delaying motherhood as they are “too focused on their careers or busy finishing their PHDs” but not finding the right partner is also a factor.
“Whilst this may be the stereotype, a lot of women who I see haven’t found their partner until later in life,” he said.
“If you’re in your early 30s and planning on having a family but it’s not on the horizon before 35 you could seriously consider freezing your eggs.
“Many of the women I see describe egg freezing as a safeguard buying some peace of mind”.
