Social media is once again ablaze, this time regarding the preservation of fertility for the players of the Spanish National Football Team. The controversy stirs up many different arguments revolving around issues such as whether women should adjust their reproductive intentions to their professional careers and not vice versa, or if the necessary medical procedures are as effective in achieving pregnancy and as safe for their bodies and athletic performance.
The controversy erupted a few days ago: Spain's most recognized and identifiable female football player, Alexia Putellas, gave an interview to El País Semanal regarding her departure from FC Barcelona and subsequent move to the London City Lionesses, her new team starting this season. The 32-year-old Catalan expressed support for a scoop that she herself announced on behalf of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). This involves the measure that the entity will implement to facilitate the vitrification of oocytes for footballers who wish to preserve their fertility.
Putellas referred to the difficulty of fitting motherhood into the world of football, emphasizing how important it is "for a player to experience World Cups." "The Federation has reached an agreement with a clinic to freeze eggs while we are active until you decide. For me, it is a huge step forward because the Federation understands that you are serving your country against your biological clock, which you cannot stop, and you cannot be a mother because you need your body to work," she said.
Athlete Ana Peleteiro: "It's sexist"
Reactions to this news have not been delayed. And they are very diverse. From Marta Perarnau, president of the professional footballers' union Futpro, who, as reported by Europa Press, sees the possible agreement of the RFEF as "very positive" and "wonderful" ("It would be interesting for the internationals, as long as the players themselves decide when to do it"), to other public figures who have expressed their disagreement from a feminist perspective.
Among them, Silvia Carrasco, retired professor of Social Anthropology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and vice president of DoFemCo (Feminist Teachers for Coeducation), who referred to the measure as an "aberration" and "audacity" for trying to present "reproductive business" as progress. Nor did Laura Baena, founder of the Club Malasmadres, find it a good idea. In her opinion, delaying motherhood to not hinder a woman's professional career is not a solution, and measures like facilitating egg freezing push women to give up their desire to have children, if that is the case. Baena advocates for supporting them, athletes or not, with "real reconciliation measures."
One of the most outspoken voices opposing this has been the athlete Ana Peleteiro, who, in an interview with YO DONA three years ago, emphatically stated: "People wait until the end of their career to have a child. I was very clear: I did not want my motherhood to mean stopping my sports career.". The Galician, an Olympic medalist in triple jump, is 30 years old, a mother of two, and has also expressed her disagreement on social media.
Peleteiro questions that a sports institution finances a medical process in order to adapt "their reproductive timing" to the demands of their careers, rather than the other way around, that is, adapting the sports structure "so that motherhood fits within it."
"The problem obviously is not egg freezing," she continues, but that it is the Federation interested in footballers delaying their desire to be mothers. "If we really want to reconcile motherhood and professional sports, let's talk about protecting contracts during pregnancy, ensuring reintegration, respecting recovery and postpartum times, facilitating childcare for children, or ultimately ensuring that being a mother does not penalize any footballer or athlete in general. That is reconciliation," she concludes.
Her protest also raises concerns that the "profoundly sexist" measure may not actually be an option for women and may end up restricting their freedom: "When that option is offered to you by the institution on which your professional career depends, at what point can it start to become an expectation?" she questions, suggesting that footballers may feel pressured not to have children during their careers if they do indeed have facilities to delay this decision.
It is about expanding women's possibilities to be mothers if they wish, not about "building a system in which the most convenient option for the institution is for them not to be mothers yet."
What does egg freezing consist of?
According to Dr. Joaquín Llácer, medical director of the Ginefiv Clinics, oocyte vitrification, commonly known as egg freezing, usually costs between 2,500 and 4,000 euros. As explained to YO DONA, it is a simple technique that takes about 15 days to complete, and after a phase of ovarian stimulation with external medication, ovulation is induced, and oocyte retrieval is performed. The procedure does not require hospitalization and lasts between 5 and 10 minutes. "The technique has improved the efficiency of the process, and the thawed oocytes show excellent success rates and safety for the newborn similar to that observed with the use of fresh oocytes," he explained.
According to the latest data from the SEF (Spanish Fertility Society), more than 7,000 women underwent this procedure in 2023 for social reasons, such as personal, work-related, economic reasons, etc., in a context of blatant demographic decline: Spanish women have their first child at 32 years old and, on average, give birth to 1.1 babies per woman. The total number of vitrified oocytes that year, according to the same entity, amounted to 65,805. On the other hand, a total of 456 children were born from frozen eggs.
Progress, yes, but not a guarantee of pregnancy
Patricia Bartolomé is a specialist in integrative fertility, an area in which she directs a master's program at the University of Vitoria-Gasteiz. She receives the news with caution and points out: "Vitrifying means preserving oocytes, not preserving motherhood. It is better to clarify this because then there are some impressive disappointments." "This procedure is a very useful advancement, but not a guarantee. There is a world between freezing eggs and having a baby," she asserts. Bartolomé refers to the complexity of these processes that are "sold" as a panacea: "It must also be taken into account that when you thaw your oocytes, your uterus and your body are many years older. Just look at the numbers of the children born."
This specialist, an engineer by profession, also doubts the safety of treatments like this: "It is necessary to overstimulate your ovaries so that they release not just one oocyte in a cycle, but 20, in order to extract them. It is a great advancement, but it involves pushing the machine to the limit, with the imbalances that can cause until the hormonal cycles return to normal."
Patricia Bartolomé is a specialist in integrative fertility, a field in which she directs a master's program at the University of Vitoria-Gasteiz. She reacts to the news with caution and clarifies: "Vitrification means preserving oocytes, not preserving motherhood. It's best to make that clear, because otherwise there are some huge disappointments later on." "This procedure is a very useful advance, but not a guarantee. There's a world of difference between freezing eggs and having a baby," she states. Bartolomé is referring to the complexity of these processes that are "marketed" as a panacea: "You also have to keep in mind that when you thaw your oocytes, your uterus and your body are many years older. You just have to look at the statistics on the number of children born."
This specialist, an engineer by profession, also has doubts about the safety of treatments like this: "You have to hyperstimulate your ovaries so that they release not just one egg, but 20, in a single cycle, in order to extract them. It's a wonderful advance, but it means pushing the body to its limits, with the imbalances that can result until hormonal cycles return to normal."
Better on vacation, away from competition
Regarding the impact of the vitrification process on athletic performance, doctors are cautious but not alarmist. Dr. Pedro Manonelles is a member of the Board of the Spanish Society of Sports Medicine: "Like other similar procedures, hormonal stimulation and the minor surgical procedure to retrieve the oocytes can have side effects. Training and competing are not recommended during this time; therefore, it is best to undergo the procedure during a vacation period."
José Ramón Pallás, also a specialist in sports medicine and coordinator of the Health and Sports Working Group at the OMC (Medical Association), adds in the same vein: "To date, there is no data indicating that vitrification affects long-term performance. Once treatment is completed, hormonal balance is restored very quickly—within a matter of days—without leaving any physical aftereffects. What's really complicated is all the logistics involved, and the fact that there is hardly any specific research on elite athletes to support recommendations backed by 100% solid evidence."
Background in the Professional World
In 2014, major companies such as Facebook and Apple surprised everyone with groundbreaking measures: they announced that they would cover the costs of egg freezing for their female employees. The initiative aimed to retain and attract female talent, while easing—at least for a few years—the dilemma between work and motherhood. Soon, other companies, including some in Spain, included similar benefits in their employment contracts.
In the world of elite sports, there are also precedents of varying scope. These range from agreements to obtain discounts at fertility clinics (as offered by Futpro itself or the Professional Footballers' Association in England) to industry-wide agreements that include financial assistance or measures to promote work-life balance—such as the provision of lactation rooms—as well as the WTA (Women's Tennis Association), which since last year has allowed players to take time off from competition to undergo fertility preservation procedures and return without their ranking being affected.