Democratic Congresswoman from New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared personal photos with her followers on social media and spoke candidly about her journey to preserve her fertility.

In a series of Instagram posts, the 36-year-old politician showed herself administering hormone stimulation injections ahead of the egg-freezing procedure.

“This is not something men have to deal with,” she told her audience. “Men run for office or go to job interviews, and it doesn’t occur to people to think, ‘Okay, this guy is running for office, how old is he? Oh, and does he want to start a family?’”

The politician, who has been in Washington since being elected to Congress at age 29, said it was a deliberate choice to help her feel more confident and in control of her life. She also stressed that women can juggle many different responsibilities: the procedure caught her in the makeup room before Sunday’s broadcast of ABC’s This Week.

It appears that Ocasio-Cortez is temporarily postponing starting a family while considering her future political career. Despite persistent rumors, she has not officially announced plans to seek higher office, though she is leaving that possibility open.

Speaking on This Week with Jonathan Karl, she said:

“I’m focused on winning the midterms. I’m running for Congress right now.”

Responding to questions about a possible presidential bid or a potential challenge to current Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2028, she said that “nothing is off the table” and that she is honored by the enormous support from voters.

Earlier in May, at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, when asked by Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod about her plans for 2028, Ocasio-Cortez replied:

“They think my ambition is a position... My ambition is much bigger. My ambition is to change this country.”

Motherhood among women politicians

Although childbirth among women members of Congress is becoming more common, it remains a relatively rare phenomenon in American politics. Alexandria’s Republican colleagues from Florida, Anna Paulina Luna and Kat Cammack, both became mothers while serving in Congress. After giving birth to a daughter last year, Cammack became the 15th woman in U.S. history to have a child while holding elected office. In addition, 40-year-old Democratic Congresswoman LaMonica McIver of New Jersey is currently pregnant with her second child.