Upasana Konidela acknowledged the debate following her speech at IIT Hyderabad, where she advocated choosing egg freezing as insurance against the pressures of marriage and motherhood, so women can focus on their careers. “I’m happy to have sparked a healthy debate, and thank you for your respectful responses,” she wrote in a post on X.
The 39-year-old, currently pregnant with twins and is a mother of a two-year-old daughter, added, “Stay tuned as I voice my opinions on the pleasures/pressures of privilege. Don’t forget to check out my images! It has very important facts that will help you make the right comments. And for all those sound employers out there – let’s work together to get more women into the workforce.”
Recall that in her address, Konidela, who is married to actor Ramcharan, said, “The biggest insurance for women is to freeze their eggs. Because then you can choose when to get married, when you want to have kids, on your own terms, when you are financially independent.”
She also noted that “more men raised their hands than women when asked about interest in marriage“. “The women seemed far more career-focused. This is the new – progressive India,” she said.
In the latest note, she also detailed how it is a personal “fact check” considering she married early but chose motherhood much later.
Here’s what you should consider (Photo: Freepik)
“I married for love and companionship at 27 – a choice I made on my own terms. At 29, I decided to freeze my eggs for personal and health reasons. I welcomed my first child at 36 and am now expecting twins at 39. For me, marriage and career are not competing priorities — they are equally meaningful parts of a fulfilled life. But I decide the timeline! That’s not privilege, it’s my right (sic)!”
While some praised her for voicing these points, many others criticised the economic and physical challenges associated with egg freezing.
“Glad to see someone openly addressing these topics without sugarcoating. Your choices, your timeline, that’s how it should be for everyone. Thanks for using your voice to push a healthier conversation around career, marriage, and women’s choices,” one wrote.
Another said that her comments were misconstrued. “What @upasanakonidela said:
‘Freeze your eggs at peak fertility’ for
– self security
– protects one’s inability to conceive naturally
– financial freedom
– societal pressures
What people take out of context
– Marry late
– Career above anything
– Freeze your eggs at Apollo”.
A user also remarked how @upasanakonidela’s comment is “not about right or wrong”. “But you’re inspiring young people to see IVF and egg-freezing as the ideal path, and that’s not fair. These procedures cost lakhs, and not everyone has the financial comfort you have. For many women, these are not options.”
Adding to the debate, Dr Sumeet Seth, Director – Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, PSRI Hospital, wrote on X that IVF has a 30-50% success rate, and it goes down with increasing age. At 40 years, the success rate is just ~ 20 %. He called it a “disservice” to advocate for egg freezing as a “choice for life”.
“> 2/3rd of couples may not succeed despite multiple cycles. Each cycle costs about 2 – 3 Lakh? The cost of Egg Freezing (Oocyte Preservation) can be around 2 – 2.5 L. There is a significant cost of drugs, tests, monitoring, egg retrieval, freezing and storage. Some Clinics may charge 25 – 50 K/ year for storage. When these eggs are to be used there is a further charge of 75 K – 1.5 L for thawing, fertilisation and ICSI (if needed) for converting Eggs to Embryo. Now add to this the side effects of hormonal therapy, emotional and physical trauma, whose cost cannot be calculated! It is great that these therapies are available for couples who really need them for medical reasons, but selling them as a “choice for life” to those who don’t understand cost & consequences is like doing a disservice.”
Experts we spoke to asserted that every woman deserves such a chance and knowledge of this option, as it would definitely help her make an informed choice.
While it can offer a sense of control during a phase of life when building stability takes priority over starting a family, the process involves hormone injections, multiple scans, and a retrieval procedure that can be physically and emotionally taxing.
“Some women feel empowered by the option, while others find the process overwhelming or worry about setting expectations that may not match the final outcome. There’s also the financial side that people tend to underestimate. Egg freezing can be expensive, and long-term storage adds to the recurring cost, making it less accessible for many. Even when eggs are stored successfully, there is no guarantee of future pregnancy, and this uncertainty often fuels the debate around whether it should really be seen as an ‘insurance policy’,” remarked Dr Bharadwaj.
Calling it a “good debate,” Dr Rita Modi, senior IVF consultant at Motherhood Fertility and IVF, Kharghar, said the aim should always be to raise awareness of the issue as a whole. “If a woman thinks she is not ready to get pregnant at that stage, she can take advantage of this technology, which will help her to get good quality eggs at a later age, as we know the number and quality of eggs decline with age. So this is just a tool to help them. It is not something that is encouraging women to make some sort of socially unacceptable choices or something that is going to change the economics or the family dynamics. This is simply a medical tool to help a woman get a good quality pregnancy even at a higher age,” said Dr Modi.
Dr Rupali Tambe, fertility specialist at Nova IVF Fertility, Pune, Lullanagar, said women of today must be made aware of the possibilities of egg preservation, or egg freezing. “Whether they make use of the procedure or not is solely up to them. But in a world that is finally opening up to women in terms of career advancement and professional aspirations, no woman should regret delaying starting a family because of her commitment to her job. It would hence make sense for girls to be educated at college levels about the possibility of freezing their eggs, so as to enable them to have children with their own gamete at an age they feel emotionally ready to do so,” said Dr Tambe.
At the same time, she said that, as fertility specialists, it is also “important for us to give a realistic picture of the procedure and counsel them on the success rate, so they can make the choice accordingly.”
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.
Upasana Konidela reacts to backlash over egg freezing for women as a choice (Photo: Upasana Konidela/Instagam) 
Here’s what you should consider (Photo: Freepik)
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