Plan maternity without biological conditions. That is the objective that has led the Club of the First Brands of the Valencian Community -formed by about twenty companies from different sectors- to sign an agreement with the Valencian Institute of Infertility (IVI) to offer your staff advantageous conditions in egg preservation.
This measure, pioneer in Spain, has also been adopted previously by other major global companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple or Spotify. On one side are those who praise her for considering that offers workers freedom to be mothers whenever they want. On the other, those who criticize her for considering that she invites women to delay their motherhood in pursuit of their career.
"One more measure of maternity aid"
According to those responsible for this agreement, the agreement between IVI and the Club of the First Brands of the Valencian Community has been carried out "as another measure of maternity aid", so that when the woman or the couple decides to have a child do not encounter any biological obstacle.
From now on, about twenty companies that make up the Club of the First Brands will decide whether or not to adhere to this agreement, accepting the conditions signed with IVI or even improving them. So far, companies such as Caixa Popular, Nunsys, Vicente Gandía Wineries and Dacsa Rice have already subscribed.
Reconciling work and family life is not easy, and this leads many women to delay the moment of becoming mothers, later encountering great difficulties to achieve a pregnancy due to his age.
"It is a reality, and it is normal, women take it for granted that I can get pregnant whenever I want, and when they decide that it is time, they are around 35 or more and they encounter problems" - explains Dr. Amparo Ruiz, Director of IVI Valencia.
Therefore, the companies that subscribe to this agreement will offer workers who wish to freeze their eggs in IVI, taking advantage of a 10% discount on a treatment of around 3,000 euros. In this way, whoever wants to can dedicate himself to his professional career and not worry about age when he decides to have a child.
The president of the First Brand Club, Juan Manuel Baixauli has commented:
"We are convinced that in the future it will be something habitual and highly valued by all the parties involved. It is simply an option that we offer to our staff and we believe that with this we contribute to overcoming one of the biggest brakes to motherhood."
This measure, which aims to match any of the social benefits offered by some companies to their workers, has raised a great controversy. On the one hand there are those who defend it because they believe that it empowers women in their decision to be mothers whenever they want. And on the other hand, those who argue that it is a way to invite women to perform more in their jobs forgetting their biological clock.
"We are moving towards demographic suicide and initiatives of this type are sold as a social benefit, when in reality it is a benefit for the company, which does not see the productivity of its workers interrupted" - says Esther Jiménez, dean of the Faculty of Education of the University of Catalonia in statements to the newspaper El Mundo.
The vitrification of ovules
The preservation of ovules is a technique that vitrifies at -196º the ovules so that they maintain the quality. This technique, which act as safe for motherhood, allows the woman to keep eggs in optimal conditions to use when deciding to be a mother.
The most suitable age for vitrification of ovules is in the twenties, since although from 27 years of age fertility begins to decline, it is not until approximately 35 years, when the ovarian reserve worsens considerably.
Preserve the eggs at an early age It increases the chances of getting pregnant in the future and giving birth to a healthy baby free of chromosomal diseases linked to maternal age.
In Spain, the preservation of ovules for reasons that have nothing to do with medical issues has increased by 261% in the last five years, and the pattern of working women who decides to resort to this technique is 37 years old and tends to do use of your frozen eggs at approximately two years.
In favor or oppossing?
The study "Maternity and professional career" carried out by the IESE Business School of the University of Navarra has shown that 56% of Spanish women believe that having children limits their professional career, and in 48.17% of cases they acknowledge having delayed motherhood until they have a consolidated professional position.
Leaving aside the medical issues that can lead to making this decision, whether it is done for professional issues, or if it meets other personal criteria, there is no doubt that egg vitrification is a great help so that the woman can see her dream of being a mother fulfilled whenever she wants, without the age being a condition at the time of becoming pregnant.
Now, in a country where the population ages more and more and where the age to have the first child is delayed year after yearI personally consider that this measure, far from being a support for motherhood, is ineffective in fighting the serious demographic crisis we face.
And before finishing I raise one last question: Are maternity and professional development really incompatible? The debate is served!
IStock Photos
Via The World, IVI
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