Dearbhail McDonald praised by Late Late viewers for speaking about freezing her eggs

Viewers of last night's Late Late show have praised journalist Dearbhail McDonald for opening up about her fertility issues.

Dearbhail, an editor for Independent Newspapers, had her eggs frozen in her mid-30s in an attempt to preserve her fertility. "Nothing quite prepares you for embarking on fertility treatment," she told host Ryan Tubridy. "To even contemplate fertility treatment of any kind, you have to go through a grieving process for the children you might never have and that’s really, really difficult. "It’s invasive and it’s costly. You will spent thousands to preserve you chances of motherhood. "Yet for all of that, it was still one of the best decisions I ever made. "I just wish I’d done it sooner." [caption id="attachment_452678" align="alignnone" width="1440"] Dearbhail in her new documentary Fertility Shock.[/caption] Dearbhail also said that Ireland is behind other countries in having a conversation about fertility. "Countries all over Europe and the world are doing massive TV campaigns to get people to be aware of their own fertilities and to try and raise the birth rates. "Our fertility rates have always been quite high, we’ve always had large families, we’ve never had to think about it but our fertility rates are in decline." The journalist has made a documentary called Fertility Shock with RTÉ exploring the issue and how it is impacting Irish society. Her interview was praised by many women watching at home, some of whom took to Twitter to share their own experiences.

Dearbhail thank you ?Very informative!Policy makers need to look at support and lifetime value tax revenues for our future generations! #latelate

— karen moloney (@canoodles) March 1, 2019

So true fertility treatment is akin to a grieving process ...grief and deep sadness for the future you thought you would have #LateLate

— June Shannon (@juneshannon) March 1, 2019

Well done @DearbhailDibs for highlighting fertility as such an important issue for Ireland. We need to support parents & young people. Was privileged to hear @DearbhailDibs at @IoDIreland event. #latelate

— Thora Mackey (@thora_mackey) March 1, 2019

Well done to @DearbhailDibs for being so articulate on something so intensely private and for speaking up on the motherhood penalty for those fortunate enough to be gifted the chance of parenthood. Proud to know you lady, and thank you #latelate

— Jeanne Kelly (@jmkirl) March 1, 2019