How ‘Eggmaxxing’ Became the Latest Fertility Quest
Some women are choosing to bank dozens of eggs—even more than 100—in a bid for greater control over their lives, careers and families.
Among the many private group chats circulating through Silicon Valley these days, one of the more unusual ones is a thread called “To Make an Omelette.”
The chat, which was started last year, numbers more than 80 women, including tech founders and other white-collar professionals. (It was originally assembled by Aella, a figure within the Bay Area’s AI rationalist scene, who is also a pseudonymous sex worker.) I spoke with several “To Make an Omelette” participants, most of whom did not want to share their identities publicly given the sensitive topic of the group’s conversation: female fertility—and how they can produce more eggs.
The women, mainly in their 20s and 30s, join because they are freezing their eggs or planning for it. The procedure is a linchpin of fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization, which now accounts for more than 2% of births in the U.S. every year.
Doctors usually advise women under 35 that they should plan for one to two rounds of egg freezing to harvest 15 eggs, a number that offers good odds of having one child. “To Make an Omelette” emerged to support women who are banking—or at least attempting to bank—dozens and dozens of eggs, perhaps 100 or more. They belong to a niche but growing community of women—call them eggmaxxers.