Alzahrani Fatimah A, Al-Jaroudi Dania, Alsufyan Hamad Ali, Alzahrani Ali A, Alshehri Saad Abdullah, Jalwi Sultana S K, Miskeen Elhadi
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Al-Habib Medical Group, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Reproductive Endocrine and Infertility Medicine Department, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Womens Health. 2025 Mar 22;17:879-895. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S496633. eCollection 2025.
Women increasingly desire fertility at later ages, yet fertility rates decline with age. Oocyte cryopreservation, offer support for women seeking pregnancy at advanced maternal ages. This mixed-methods study explored the experiences and perspectives of 100 women aged 18-47 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia who underwent oocyte cryopreservation for social and medical reasons. The research aims to understand the motivations, challenges, and satisfaction levels associated with oocyte cryopreservation within the context of Saudi Arabian society and culture.
Using mixed methods, 100 subjects were enrolled in ten months. Self-administered questionnaires were dispersed to 100 women who underwent oocyte cryopreservation at a private clinic. Fifteen women willing to undergo recorded interviews were interviewed for 11-to 25-minute sessions. The interviews were transcribed entirely and subjected to thematic content analysis. Quantitative data was analyzed on STATA BE Version 18.
77 women (77%) froze their oocytes for social reasons, and the women understood the medical/non-medical rationale for freezing. Interestingly, women's reasons for oocyte cryopreservation were highly associated with satisfaction (p=0.050), with women stating social reasons being most satisfied. It can also be seen that factors such as the presence of complications during the oocyte cryopreservation process were tied to low satisfaction (p=0.040). Six thematic areas around oocyte cryopreservation are presented, including freezing concepts and aims, patient experience, challenges in service quality, communication and confidentiality, and -proposals.
This research has highlighted how the medical and socio-cultural of women impacted the oocyte cryopreservation intersect. There is a need for improved culturally sensitive healthcare and educational services for better access and awareness. This is better to show that the public policy advocacy that contributes to the unique impacts of oocyte cryopreservation on a woman's reproductive health and why is particularly concerning.
女性越来越渴望在更高龄时生育，但生育率会随着年龄增长而下降。卵母细胞冷冻保存为寻求高龄妊娠的女性提供了支持。这项混合方法研究探讨了沙特阿拉伯利雅得100名年龄在18至47岁之间因社会和医疗原因接受卵母细胞冷冻保存的女性的经历和观点。该研究旨在了解在沙特阿拉伯社会和文化背景下，与卵母细胞冷冻保存相关的动机、挑战和满意度水平。
采用混合方法，在十个月内招募了100名受试者。自行填写的问卷分发给在一家私人诊所接受卵母细胞冷冻保存的100名女性。对15名愿意接受录音采访的女性进行了11至25分钟的访谈。访谈全部转录并进行主题内容分析。定量数据在STATA BE版本18上进行分析。
77名女性（77%）出于社会原因冷冻了她们的卵母细胞，并且这些女性理解冷冻的医学/非医学原理。有趣的是，女性进行卵母细胞冷冻保存的原因与满意度高度相关（p = 0.050），表明出于社会原因的女性满意度最高。还可以看出，卵母细胞冷冻保存过程中出现并发症等因素与低满意度相关（p = 0.040）。围绕卵母细胞冷冻保存呈现了六个主题领域，包括冷冻概念和目的、患者体验、服务质量挑战、沟通和保密性以及建议。
本研究突出了女性的医学和社会文化因素如何影响卵母细胞冷冻保存。需要改进对文化敏感的医疗保健和教育服务，以提高可及性和认知度。这更能表明公共政策倡导对于卵母细胞冷冻保存对女性生殖健康的独特影响以及原因的特别关注。
