Former Miss World Diana Hayden, who has publicly discussed having her first child out of eggs she froze nine years ago, said she chose to reveal that intimate part of her life in the hope that it would help women who are finding it difficult to conceive.
“I am someone who doesn’t talk about her private life, but the reason I brought it up is the belief that if it gives one woman that hope or make a difference to their life, it is worth me sharing that intimate part of my life,” said Hayden at a press conference in Dubai on Sunday afternoon. The new mother, 43, was in the UAE to launch the Aster IVF & Women Clinic in Mankhool and to launch a study about infertility cases in the UAE conducted by the hospital chain. The findings of the study claim that one in five women in the UAE face fertility issues and that this number could steadily climb by 2030.
“When I froze my eggs, I was 34 and nine years ago it wasn’t that common. The only people who would freeze their eggs worldwide were people with cancer or with illnesses in which their treatment would affect the chances of them being pregnant ... But I am a bit of a dichotomy. I am a romantic and yet a practical person. I am somebody who believes in science and who believes in God as well,” said Hayden. Her friends didn’t understand why she took such a radical step.
“When I was 30, 31, 32… there was no sign of Mr right, just Mr wrongs. I froze my eggs so that I would have an option. I don’t like having my back to the wall or to be put in a corner… Trust me, at that time, it was an insurance cover. But remember, you don’t take a car insurance and say, you are now going to have a car crash, right. So that same philosophy applied to me,” said Hayden.
However, after her marriage to Collin Dick, she found out that she suffered from endometriosis, a disease where tissues grow outside the uterus, making it difficult to conceive. Those eggs came to her rescue and with the help of IVF treatment she now has a daughter, whom she describes as the “joy of her life”.
“I sleep probably two hours a night now. Arya is going to be four months old in ten days. But in the middle of the night, when she smiles at me it brings me such joy. I just look at her face and my energy returns,” said Hayden. While freezing of eggs is only open to married woman in the UAE, Hayden is an advocate of playing safe.
“Sometimes you get married and you just want to enjoy your early stages of marriage, Do that, but freeze your eggs and embryos because you never know when you might need that option,” said Hayden.
Read the full interview in tabloid! soon.
