Love Island's Amy Hart has shared the eye-watering amount she spent freezing her eggs at 28 after opening up about the 'hidden costs' attached to the process.
The 31-year-old reality TV star, who starred in the fifth season of the show, sat down with Tyla and discussed her experiences with IVF, early menopause and pregnancy.
The former Islander and her fiancé, Sam Rason, welcomed their first child into the world together last spring (3 March).
In a heartfelt message to her fans at the time, she spoke about her growing family and shared several photos: "Well…. 4 days of contractions at home (which everyone told us were Braxton hicks…they weren’t ), 4 very short hours in the delivery suite and 5 long days in hospital later, we are home with our dreamy baby boy born at 3.31am on 3/3/23 weighing 8lbs with the most beautiful head of hair (Amy would take the 9 months of reflux again) and we are so so in love."
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The Instagram post continued: "Proper introductions to come but now we’re home safe and sound. Thank you to everyone who sent their well wishes.
"We really appreciated it over the last few days here’s a few delivery room snaps, can’t wait to show you his beautiful, non-post-birth swollen face."
It’s likely that Amy's little tot will be the first of many as the star plans to have a big family, according to a comment she previously made on Instagram.
Amy began by telling Tyla the decision to freeze her eggs came after a 'fertility MOT' where her doctor informed her they would be going ahead with it after she was warned she was heading towards an 'early menopause' also known as premature ovarian failure, which interestingly left her feeling 'quite empowered'.
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"I felt really lucky that I was in a position where I could say, 'Oh, yes, I'll do it then!" she recalled.
She then did four rounds, explaining that the first round was a staggering £3,995, adding that you need to get those done 'until you get a successful collection', as well as paying £1,500 for medication.
However, the day before her first collection, a scan showed there was only one egg collected, which would 'probably be gone' by the next day.
The decision was then made to 'abandon the egg', leading Amy to fork out even more to pay for her medication again.
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Instead of paying an already steep £1,500 for her medication, she paid a mammoth £2,400 as the previous one 'didn't work' for her.
Luckily, this round worked as doctors were able to collect five eggs and, one year later, they collected another seven.
But Amy warned that this isn't the full picture when it comes to the expense behind the process.
"There's a lot of hidden costs when it comes to egg freezing and not in a malicious way," she told Tyla. "It's not like you sign up for this, it's got an asterisk."
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Amy, who lives in Worthing, had her procedures done in London and warned that train tickets were 'not cheap'.
She explained: "You know, you think 'Okay, so it's like, what? £20/£30 quid for the train.' But then all your appointments are 8.30am in the morning so it's not an off peak train. It's a peak train, which can be £70."
A major piece of advice for anyone doing fertility treatment of any kind is to try and find a clinic close to home because Amy learnt the hard way after picking one in London, not realising that some days you have to go in 'every other day'.
During one appointment, Amy went into the hospital to find out there was one egg there and was asked to get more blood tests to double-check, which ended up being £140.
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She continued: "I went in for a scan one day, and they were like, 'Right, it's time to start your second injection. What time will you be home tonight?'
"And I said, 'Oh, six o'clock?'"
The doctors then informed Amy this time was 'too late' and she was instructed to buy another one at £400, adding: "So, if you can save money on things like AMH (Anti-Müllerian hormone) tests, sexual health checks and stuff before you start, then that gives you a bit of buffer money for when you're doing IVF or egg freezing."
In total, the social media sensation revealed she'd spent a sky-high £15,000 for the entire process.
Amy admitted that this figure was 'not accessible for most people' and highlighted that she was in a 'really privileged position' as her parents helped to pay for her first round while she paid for the second.
"I felt really lucky that I was in a position where I could just do it. But also, then it makes me feel bad because it's not as accessible to everyone else," she noted.
While Amy's son, little Stanley, ended up being conceived naturally, the TV personality revealed she would 'love' to donate her remaining eggs 'as it stands now'.
Now using her platform to destigmatise early menopause, egg freezing and other fertility issues, the mum-of-one revealed people have messaged her to thank her for 'making [them] feel less alone'.
She then opened up about how she navigated the egg freezing process alongside Sam after doing one round before meeting him, and one round the year after they met.
"He didn't know anything about female conditions before he met me and now he's like, fully versed in egg freezing, AMH levels, HPV, smear tests, colposcopy - he knows everything," Amy went on. "So yeah, he was amazing."
Discussing her own personal experiences with smear tests following Cervical Cancer Prevention Week late last month, Amy admitted: "I would say go and do it!
"I'm not going to be one of those people that says, 'Doesn't even hurt! It's fine! Don't worry about it!'
"My cervix has actually moved. I used to have a tilted cervix and having my smear test done with a tilted cervix was horrendous. But would I still get it done? Yes I would. If they offered it to me every six months, would I sit and get it down? Yes, I would."
She added: "Knowledge is power. If you know about these things early enough, then you can do things about it."
Offering further advice for anyone in a similar situation to her, Amy echoed: "Knowledge is power, do your research."
Amy works alongside femme health, which has been dubbed the 'Sephora of fertility' and is dedicated to supporting women from periods to menopause, but especially women who are trying to conceive - with their main mission being to help women throughout their entire journey, at every stage and for every age.
"They're like a big signposting service," Amy explains, adding that it has 'all the links' to send women and people with uteruses 'to the places you need to go'.
"Do your research," she reiterated, "and if you know about it early enough, like I did, if you can, freeze your eggs.
"Take it into your own hands basically."
Explaining the importance of having a 'backup plan', Amy concluded: "Yeah, it's worth a go!
"If you've got the funds to do it, if you've got the opportunity to do it - do it!"
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@amyhartxoTopics: Love Island, Celebrity, Parenting, Pregnancy, Health