WNBA Star Sue Bird Freezes Her Eggs, Says It's an Option For The Future
Sue Bird wanted to have options in the future. Recently, she made a decision that will allow her that.
When it comes to having a family, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star said she is not planning to start one now. However, when she spoke to The Washington Post, Sue opened up about planning for the future and keeping her options open. She said she finally decided to freeze her eggs after spending years considering it.
Normalize Egg-Freezing Option
Sue Bird said that being in a relationship changes people in many ways. Bird has been dating soccer star Megan Rapinoe for almost three years now.
"It can be hard to picture out a life together (with children) when you are both athletes," Bird admitted. The Seattle Storm star shared that it is the relationship and her love for her profession as an athlete that made her think about having options in the future. She thought that if she and Megan go down the road and start thinking about kids, it can be so hard to imagine that they could not even if they wanted to.
Sue admitted that having kids at the moment is impossible. She joked that keeping a goldfish alive is not even possible now. While she is aware the freezing her eggs can be quite expensive and that the procedure is not covered by the WNBA's health plan, Bird remains hopeful that the issue can somehow be normalized.
She wants women to be able to openly talk about freezing their eggs in a conversation that they will not be judged.
As an athlete, she considers this option as a big thing. Straight or gay, everyone should have this option. The basketball star believes that her body is her career, which is why she needs to make her options open, especially in terms of starting her own family.
The Athlete's Life
There is a lot going on in the lives of women's athletes. Starting a family for professional women athletes usually take the back seat. Sadly, a lot of these women regret that they did not have kids early on in their life. By the time they think they are ready, their body is no longer fit to carry a baby.
In the world of WNBA alone, the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) is coming up. It would definitely be a good start for the league to openly talk about these things. Maybe if athletes have this option, they would not have to worry about choosing their career over starting a family.
The basketball veteran did not go through the egg-freezing process alone. Breanna Stewart, the 2018 WNBA MVP, also attended the seminar in a fertility clinic in Seattle. The 25-year old athlete also decided to freeze her eggs after the end of the season.
Stewart opened up about the adjustments she had to go through before the procedure. She had to inject something on herself every day. It was something she has never done before, Stewart told the "Post."
"I was bloated and I couldn't do the workouts that I want to," Stewart admitted.
These two women athletes have taken their future in their hands. And although it may not be the most traditional form, they both know that freezing their eggs has opened a lot of doors for them in the future. Today, they can be confident that they can start a family in the future, whenever they are emotionally, physically and psychologically ready.
