Florence Pugh Shares "Mind-Boggling" Decision to Freeze Her Eggs at Age 27
The actress discussed the diagnoses that caused her to "get her eggs out... quickly."
Florence Pugh has opened up about the health diagnoses that made her decide to freeze her eggs at age 27.
In an interview with Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, known as "Dr. A," and influencer Mary Alice Haney on Dear Media's "SHE MD" podcast, Pugh got frank about her fertility.
Pugh revealed (via People) that she'd met with Dr. A, who "asked if I'd ever had an egg count done and I was like, 'No what do you mean? I'm so young. Why do I need an egg count?'"
Following the egg count, Dr. A diagnosed Pugh with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, both of which can negatively impact a person's fertility.
"It was just so bizarre because my family are baby-making machines," Pugh explained on the podcast. "My mom had babies into her forties. My gran had babies throughout."
Pugh continued, "And then of course, I learned completely different information, at age 27, that I need to get my eggs out, and do it quickly, which was just a bit of a mind-boggling realization, and one that I'm really lucky and glad that I found out when I did because I've been wanting kids since I was a child."
Pugh explained that, while she had heard of PCOS, she had no idea it was so "common." Approximately five million people are thought to have PCOS in the U.S. alone, and many more go undiagnosed, per the CDC.
The Little Women star explained, "I really just thought that it was something that you'd feel and that you'd know you had, and that it wasn't really a worry."
After receiving the diagnosis, Pugh shared her realizations that "you have to change your lifestyle, you have to be proactive and think ahead into the future." She continued, "I think [for] lots of young women, that's not really necessarily what you're thinking of doing when you're In your twenties."
Prior to her official diagnosis, Pugh had experienced some of the symptoms commonly associated with PCOS, such as acne and "hair that shouldn't be in certain places." The actress said she rationalized those symptoms as "part of being a woman, and also living a maybe slightly stressful life." She continued, "I didn't think constant weight fluctuation would also be a part of it."
Ultimately, Pugh decided to share her fertility journey as she wanted to help other people in the same situation. "[I]f you have a dream of maybe one day being a mom, these things are so important," she said.
