admin Becoming a mother was a role Breanne Irving always knew she wanted.
“For me, having children was never a ‘maybe’ — it’s always been a firm ‘absolutely yes,’” said Irving.
However, the path to motherhood for the Calgary-based palliative care doctor has been far more challenging than she expected.
At 30, Irving first considered freezing her eggs. But with her medical career just beginning and other personal complexities unfolding, she decided it wasn’t the right time.
Nearly four years later, amidst a period of upheaval, she finally began the process — determined to preserve her chance of starting a family when the time was right.
“I said no more delays, no more pushing timelines,” she recalled. “There was something that felt deeply wrong about waiting — I don’t know if it was my ovaries sounding the alarm.”
Irving’s fertility journey began with a devastating discovery: her ovarian reserve was low. If she wanted children, she needed to act immediately — ideally by freezing embryos rather than just eggs.
The revelations didn’t stop there. She soon learnt that egg quality and production typically decline significantly after the age of 32.
“I remember needing to schedule a follow-up appointment with my fertility specialist after that first consultation because I was so overwhelmed,” said Irving. “It’s hard to even put the feeling into words.”
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