For a variety of reasons, an increasing number of women are choosing to build families on their own, without a partner. Single women are pursuing motherhood on their own terms—and in some cases, they are going through the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) process to do so.
Pursuing single parent IVF is not as strange as it sounds as several women often opt to go solo for one reason or another. Using third-party reproduction such as an egg donor, sperm donor or gestational surrogate has become more commonplace in recent times. More often than not, the reason for opting for single parent IVF are personal and should be left at that.
When you are struggling with infertility as a woman, it means that you are unable to conceive despite having regular unprotected sex. As a solution, IVF is a procedure in which surgically-removed eggs are fertilised with sperm in a laboratory, then inserted directly into the uterus.
If you’re single, the eggs can be yours or can be from a donor while the sperm can belong to a known or unknown donor. Typically, when you are a single woman and you wish to build your family with a sperm donor, you will first be counselled, then encouraged to use intrauterine insemination (IUI) which involves a technique through which donated sperm is deposited directly into your uterus during your ovulation.
However, in cases where IUI has been unsuccessful or if a particular medical condition or infertility diagnosis prevents the use of IUI, then IVF is definitely the next best course of treatment for you. You can also benefit from IVF over IUI if you suffer recurrent miscarriage, damaged Fallopian tubes, endometriosis or you have an inherited genetic disease.
If you are pursuing single parent IVF, you need to be aware that IVF is not typically a go-to treatment unless a diagnosis has determined that it offers the best possible chance for a successful pregnancy. Your fertility specialist will guide you and provide an in-depth analysis on whether you are an ideal candidate for single parent IVF.
There are a number of reasons why a single woman would choose to undergo IVF with a sperm donor to build her family. Among these is the possibility that she is ready to build her family, regardless of her relationship status or she faces concerns about age and female fertility.
Whatever is the reason, one of the major concerns is how to find a sperm donor for single parent IVF. Every single woman seeking a sperm donor has two options. You can work with a known sperm donor, or can select an anonymous or unknown donor.
A known sperm donor is someone you know, such as a close friend, who has agreed to donate sperm. An anonymous sperm donor is someone who you do not know, such as a donor you select from a sperm bank.
A good knowledge of how the IVF process works is also important. It involves handling of both eggs and sperm within the laboratory to allow for the fertilisation of eggs and early development of embryos. To prepare for the IVF process, you would be given injectable fertility medications for approximately 10 days, during which the growth of your eggs is closely monitored.
When the eggs are ready to be collected (after about 14 days), you take one final injection that assists in maturation of the eggs – and 36 hours afterwards, the eggs are collected from the ovary. The IVF process usually involves anaesthesia or sedation to relieve pain.
Next, the collected eggs are combined with sperm taken from the male in a Petri dish and allowed to fertilise. The fertilised eggs, now called embryos, are stored for three to seven days. Afterwards doctors transplant one or more of the embryos into your uterus with a catheter. Implantation – and subsequent pregnancy – usually takes place one or two weeks later.
The success rate of IVF depends largely on the egg quality which is primarily a reflection of the age of the woman from which the eggs are obtained. The younger a woman is when she goes through IVF, the greater chance her eggs will potentially result in a healthy pregnancy and baby.
The average cost of each IVF cycle, and the realisation that it often takes multiple IVF cycles to successfully achieve conception, could be intimidating, but it has not significantly diminished the demand for single parent IVF.
The bottom line is that if you are a woman with a desire to build your family as a single parent, IVF treatment is ultimately your best bet. The procedure can be done with the aid of a sperm donor. If you’re ready to begin your family building journey, contact a reputable fertility specialist in an accredited facility.
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