Egg freezing has seen a 75-fold increase in women choosing it over a decade, driven by social media ads using algorithms for targeted promotion. Experts warn that this advertising prioritizes profit over objective information, adding pressure to reproductive decisions. While it offers a sense of control, it does not address underlying social issues like work-life balance.
In Spain, the number of women choosing to freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons has surged dramatically: from 75 cases in 2012 to 5,677 in 2023, according to the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF). The average age for this procedure has dropped from 38 to 35 over that period, per data from the Dexeus Mujer group. This rise aligns with a flood of advertising on platforms like Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube, where algorithms target women aged 30 to 47 for egg vitrification.
Sample ad messages include 'It's time to plan. Freeze your eggs' or 'Now you have the power to stop time. 55 euros per month'. Luisa Ávila, a 28-year-old technician, says these ads create a sense of urgency: 'You feel like time is running out, that you're already late'. Gynecologist Sara López Sánchez from Barcelona's CIRH clinic views the social media visibility positively but stresses: 'The real solution would be labor and economic conditions that allow motherhood without delay'.
Luana Mathias Souto, a researcher at the Open University of Catalonia, critiques how algorithmic surveillance shapes reproductive choices: 'They prioritize commercial logic over objective information', without detailing risks. The treatment costs between 2,000 and 5,000 euros, plus medication and 500 euros annual storage, and is recommended before age 35. Ruth Romero from the Instituto Bernabéu describes the process: daily hormone injections for 10 days, followed by extraction under sedation. Yet, only 13% of women in Europe use the frozen eggs, providing more psychological reassurance than certainty.