Florence Pugh opened up about her decision to freeze her eggs during the Tuesday, November 19 episode of the SHE MD podcast, hosted by Dr. Thais Aliabadi and women’s advocate Mary Alice Haney—and it’s a powerful reminder to stay proactive about your health.
“I had this sudden feeling that I should go and get everything checked,” she shared with the hosts. “I’d had a few weird dreams; I think my body was telling me.” She also described experiencing symptoms like “acne [and] hair that shouldn’t be in certain places,” though she initially dismissed them as “part of being a woman” with a “slightly stressful life.”
She decided to visit her doctor, who asked if she had ever had an egg count. Her initial reaction was, “No, what do you mean? I’m so young. Why do I need an egg count?” After undergoing testing, she was diagnosed with both endometriosis and PCOS, which can impact fertility. That diagnosis ultimately sparked her decision to freeze her eggs.
“You find out you do have it, and you realize you have to change your lifestyle, you have to be proactive and think ahead into the future,” Pugh reflected. “I think [for] lots of young women, that’s not really necessarily what you’re thinking of doing when you’re in your 20s.”
The double diagnosis came as a shock. “It was just so bizarre because my family are baby-making machines,” she continued. “My mom had babies into her 40s. My gran had babies throughout … And then, of course, I learned completely different information, at age 27, that I need to get my eggs out and do it quickly, which was just a bit of a mind-boggling realization and one that I’m really lucky and glad that I found out when I did because I’ve been wanting kids since I was a child.”
Pugh’s story is proof that listening to your body and trusting your instincts is always the right move.
