This post was prompted by the 60 Minutes segment "Going It Alone" which aired 19 April 2026. The information here is intended as a starting point for your own research and reflection — it is not medical advice. Please speak with a fertility specialist about your individual circumstances.

If tonight's 60 Minutes got you thinking, you're in good company.

The question of whether to freeze your eggs, or whether to consider solo motherhood, is one of the most emotionally layered decisions a woman can face. It involves your biology, your finances, your relationship history, your sense of self, and your vision for the future — all at once.

I'm Alisha. I'm a solo mum by choice, and I founded Solo Mum Society because when I was navigating this myself, I couldn't find the honest, grounded conversation I needed. This is my attempt to offer that to you.

I'm not going to tell you what to do. But I am going to ask you some questions that might help you get clearer about what you actually want.

What egg freezing is — and what it isn't

Egg freezing is a genuine option that has helped many women preserve their fertility and go on to have children. The science has improved significantly in recent years, and for the right person at the right time, it can be a meaningful and worthwhile step.

It's also worth going into with clear eyes, because it's sometimes described in ways that are more optimistic than the lived experience of using those eggs often turns out to be.

The phrase you'll often hear is "insurance policy." I'd encourage you to hold that phrase carefully — it implies a level of certainty that simply doesn't exist. Frozen eggs are a possibility, a real and valuable one, but not a guarantee. No responsible clinic will promise you otherwise. Understanding the general picture before you decide is one of the most useful things you can do.

What the statistics actually say

Success rates depend on two main things: your age when you freeze, and the number of mature eggs you bank. Of those two, age is the most significant factor.

Here's what the journey from frozen eggs to a baby actually looks like — and this is important, because the numbers are sequential, not additive. Each step is a percentage of what survived the step before it, not of the total eggs you started with.

As a rough guide, from 10 frozen eggs: around 8–9 are likely to survive the thaw process. Of those, around 5–6 may fertilise successfully. Of those fertilised eggs, roughly 2–3 might develop into a viable blastocyst — a day-5 embryo ready for transfer. From that point, each transfer has approximately a 30–45% chance of resulting in a pregnancy for women who froze before 35.

So from 10 frozen eggs, you might realistically expect 2–3 opportunities to transfer. Not 10.

This is why the number of eggs you bank matters so much. Research suggests that the number of mature eggs needed to give yourself a reasonable cumulative chance of one live birth varies significantly with age:

Under 35: around 15 mature eggs for a cumulative live birth chance in the range of 70–80%
35–37: closer to 20 mature eggs for a similar chance
38–40: around 30 mature eggs for a somewhat lower cumulative chance
Over 40: around 30 or more eggs, with success rates declining more steeply

These are research-based estimates, not guarantees, and your fertility specialist will give you a personalised picture based on your ovarian reserve and how your body responds to stimulation. But they do explain why multiple retrieval cycles are common — because banking 20–30 mature eggs from a single cycle is not typical for most women, particularly those over 35.

One more thing worth knowing: when eggs are frozen, they are not tested for quality or chromosomal health. That assessment happens later, when the eggs are thawed, fertilised, and developed. Embryo freezing does allow for genetic testing before transfer — but embryo freezing requires sperm first, which defeats the purpose if you're genuinely keeping your options open for a partner. So egg freezing remains the standard path, and it comes with this fundamental limitation: you won't know the full picture until you go to use them, and quality always matters more than quantity. And if you use them too late and they don’t result in the child you hoped, it may be too late to get more of your own eggs to try with.

Again — none of this is said to put you off. It's said so that you go in knowing what you're working with.

The real cost — worth knowing upfront

In Australia, one egg retrieval cycle typically costs $8,000-$15,000 or more once you factor in the procedure, medications, anaesthetist, monitoring, and other associated costs. There is generally no Medicare rebate for elective egg freezing, though NSW residents may be eligible for a $2,000 government rebate depending on their circumstances — worth checking if that applies to you.

Given that most specialists recommend banking 20–30 mature eggs, depending on your age, and that a single cycle typically yields significantly fewer than that, many women go through two or more cycles to bank enough eggs. The total cost of freezing alone can easily reach $30,000 or more before you've started the process of using them.

Annual storage is typically $300–$600 per year. When you're ready to use your eggs, you'll then go through an IVF cycle to fertilise and transfer them — Medicare rebates do apply at this stage, which helps. And if you're planning to use donor sperm: Australian clinic sperm typically costs $600–$3,000 per vial, while international donors can be significantly more expensive, sometimes $3,000–$5,000 per vial, and some clinics require you to purchase multiple vials upfront. It's worth building the full picture into your planning from the start, rather than discovering the complete cost in stages.

None of these costs should put you off if egg freezing is genuinely the right step for you. But going in with accurate numbers means you can plan properly and make a decision from a position of real information.

The question underneath the question

Here's where I'd gently invite you to slow down and get honest with yourself.

Egg freezing is often framed as buying time. And in a limited sense, that's true. But time for what, specifically?

What would need to change — in your life, your relationship situation, your circumstances — between now and the point where you'd use those eggs to have a child?

If the answer is "meet the right person" — that's completely valid, and I'm not here to talk you out of that hope. But I'd invite you to take it one step further and think about your actual relationship history.

How long does it typically take you to know — really know — whether a relationship is right? For most people, it's at least a year, often two. And how long would you want to be with someone before having a child with them? Another year or two, perhaps?

If you met the right person tomorrow, you could realistically be looking at three to five years before having a child with them. Factor in your current age, and think about where that lands you.

And look at your recent dating history. When was the last time you had a relationship that looked like it had a chance at a future? Or was the 60 Minutes story saying there is a real lack of men ready to become fathers, more aligned with your experience? How likely is that to change before the arbitrary deadline you’ve given yourself?

This isn't meant to be alarming. It's just an honest piece of maths that's worth doing now, privately, rather than discovering under pressure later.

If nothing changes in your relationship situation over the next three years, what will you want to do then? And if the answer is to have a child on your own — what would it take to start getting clear on that now?

What most solo mums say when they look back

I've spoken to hundreds of women who have become solo mums by choice. If there's one thing that comes up more consistently than almost anything else, it's this:

I wish I had started sooner.

Not every woman — and not without nuance. Some women genuinely needed more time, more clarity, more processing before they were ready to take the step. But the regret of waiting is far more common than the regret of starting.

Many women froze their eggs in their mid-30s, kept hoping, and eventually used them alone anyway — just a few years later, older, with more money spent and less time and energy than they'd have had if they'd started the journey earlier. That outcome isn't a failure of egg freezing. It's just what happens when life doesn't follow the plan we hoped it would.

Which is, I think, the most important thing to sit with.

Solo motherhood doesn't mean giving up on love

This might be the thing I most want you to hear.

Choosing to pursue solo motherhood is not a statement that you're done with relationships. It's not closing a door. It's not giving up on the life you imagined.

It is making a decision about your timeline for motherhood that is separate from your timeline for a partner. These two things don't have to happen together, in the same order, or as part of the same deal.

Many solo mums find love after having their children — some while pregnant, some when their child is small, some later. Doing this alone doesn't make you less loveable or less available for partnership. If anything, the clarity and intentionality that comes with this decision tends to attract people who are equally clear and grounded.

The right person — someone genuinely ready for real partnership and real life — will not be put off by the fact that you chose yourself and your child. They will be drawn to it. The people who aren't weren't your person.

You are not choosing between love and motherhood. You are choosing not to put motherhood on hold indefinitely while you wait for love to arrive on a schedule it may not follow.

So — egg freezing or solo motherhood?

Honestly? For some women, the answer is both — freeze eggs as a form of preservation, and also start exploring the solo motherhood journey at the same time. For others, egg freezing makes genuine sense as a standalone step. For others still, the honest answer is that the solo path is where they're heading regardless, and the most powerful thing they can do is start getting clear on that now rather than later.

There's no single right answer. But there are better and worse-informed decisions. And the most important thing is that whatever you decide, you decide it with accurate information and genuine self-knowledge — not under the influence of marketing, or fear, or a vague feeling that you need to do something without quite knowing what.

If you're not sure where you stand — if you're somewhere in the middle of all this, holding more questions than answers — that's exactly what the Solo Motherhood Clarity Guide is designed for.

The Solo Motherhood Clarity Guide is a free download — seven honest questions to help you work out what you actually want, what you're waiting for, and what your next step might look like. No pressure. No agenda. Just a quiet space to get clear.

Whatever you're feeling tonight — I'm glad you're here. This is exactly what Solo Mum Society is for.

Alisha x

This blog is for general information and reflection only. Costs, success rates, and eligibility for rebates vary by individual, clinic, and state. The statistics referenced are based on publicly available research and Australian clinic data, and will vary for each individual. Please speak with your GP or a fertility specialist for personalised medical advice before making any fertility decisions.

Should I Freeze My Eggs or Become a Solo Mum by Choice? What 60 Minutes Didn't Tell You