Millennial Workers Choose Fertility Benefits Over Free Beer

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine’s postdoctoral fellow Moira Kyweluk, PhD, MPH, who studies the anthropology of reproduction in the U.S., suggests that it’s social trends rather than company policies that are driving interest in assisted reproductive technology. In particular, she points to the growing share of reproductive-age women who don’t have partners, who are turning to egg freezing in particular in hopes of “postpon[ing] having to confront childbearing until they’re at a place where they feel more settled in their personal lives.”

At the same time, Kyweluk says it’s important to understand that no procedure is a guarantee for a healthy pregnancy. When I tell her that I’ve heard egg freezing described as an insurance policy, she stops me. “I even hesitate to use the term ‘insurance policy,’” she says. “It’s an option.”