Florence Pugh Explains Her "Bizarre" Decision to Freeze Her Eggs at 27 Years Old
The British actress was diagnosed with PCOS and endometriosis last year.
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Florence Pugh is opening up about her reproductive health journey. She appeared on Dear Media's 'SHE MD' podcast, hosted by OBGYN Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi and women's advocate Mary Alice Haney, this morning, where she told all about her experience freezing her eggs due to health issues.
The We Live in Time star recounted her experience learning she has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common hormone imbalance that affects women of childbearing age, and endometriosis, a chronic condition in which tissue similar to the uterus lining grows outside the uterus. She was made aware of both conditions, which can each cause fertility, through Aliabadi when she was 27 years old. The doctor suggested she freeze her eggs to help navigate potential fertility complications in the future.
“She asked if I’d ever had an egg count done,” Pugh, now 28, recalled to the hosts. “And I was like, ‘No what do you mean? I'm so young. Why do I need an egg count?’”
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It was through the egg count that Aliabadi was able to diagnose the actress with PCOS and endometriosis. Aliabadi then encouraged Pugh to freeze her eggs after learning she wanted to wait at least five years before having a baby.
“It was just so bizarre because my family are baby making machines,” Florence said. “When mom had babies into her 40s, my gran had babies throughout. I just never assumed that I was going to be in any way different and that there was going to be an issue with it. It just really wasn't a red flag for me.”
The Midsommar star continued: “Then of course, I learned completely different information, age 27, that I need to get my eggs out and do it quickly, which was just a bit of a mind-bobbling realization. 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.”
The British actress also explained that her diagnoses came as a bit of a surprise.
“I'd heard of it. I didn't think that it was something that is common. I really just thought that it was something that you'd feel and that you'd know you had and that it wasn't really a worry," she shared. “Then of course, you find out you do and you realize you have to change your lifestyle and you have to figure out when you can be proactive and think ahead into the future, which I think for lots of young women, that's not really necessarily what you're thinking of doing when you're in your 20s or even younger.”
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Pugh has found a silver lining in the experience, however. She is grateful she can now help others going through similar situations, such as her friends.
"I think two or three of my friends have gone to go and get checked because of my findings and they've also found that they have the same thing," she continued. "So already just by me learning the tiniest bit of information, it's led for other women to go and check to see if they also have the same.”
Pugh has opened up about wanting to have a family eventually. Most recently, she told British Vogue in September that her new movie We Live in Time, which follows the story of a woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer and her long-term boyfriend, forced her to think about the trajectory of her own life.
“I was going through a lot of weird stuff with relationships last year and I think part of the story is to not be passive, is not to let things wash over you. I want to go and find love and I want to have babies," she said. "I’ve always been thinking about starting a family,” the Dune star added. “I’ve wanted to have kids since I was a child myself. I love the idea of a big family. I come from a big family. I love kids," she continued, adding having children is not a question of "if," but rather "when."
