IVF for single women allows many patients to become mothers without a partner thanks to modern assisted reproduction techniques. In recent years, the number of fertility treatments for single women has increased significantly, and today a growing percentage of assisted reproduction patients choose to start a family on their own.
Thanks to treatments such as sperm donation, IVF and embryo donation, becoming a mother as a single woman is now a safe and effective option.
TREATMENTS
Before choosing the most appropriate fertility treatment, it is important to correctly analyse the fertility status of the single mother-to-be. Not all techniques and treatments have the same chance of success for all patients.
In vitro fertilisation or IVF involves the fertilisation of the egg and sperm in the laboratory. The eggs are extracted from the mother-to-be by ovarian puncture and fertilised with the donor's sperm. This technique requires ovarian stimulation to obtain an adequate number of eggs to guarantee the success of the treatment.
The embryos will develop in the laboratory until they reach the blastocyst stage (day 5-6 of development). Thanks to time-lapse technology, they are constantly monitored by embryologists without having to leave the incubator. This keeps the culture conditions intact.
Artificial insemination is a simple and minimally invasive technique that involves depositing sperm, previously capacitated in the laboratory, into the mother's uterus during ovulation.
The aim is for the egg and sperm to meet in order to increase the chances of pregnancy. Unlike in vitro fertilisation, fertilisation takes place in the fallopian tubes.
Double gamete donation involves using eggs and sperm from anonymous donors who wish to help others achieve their dream of becoming parents.
Embryo adoption is a fertility treatment in which a cryopreserved embryo is transferred into the uterus of a woman recipient with the aim of becoming pregnant.
Embryo adoption allows the adoption of high-quality embryos donated by other people who have already fulfilled their desire to form a family. As a result, this treatment has become an effective reproductive solution for patients who wish to access quality embryos without undergoing ovarian stimulation.
At IVF-Life you will have an initial appointment with the fertility doctor specially assigned to you. During this first appointment, you will meet the whole team, who will be committed to achieving a common goal: helping you become a mother.
Ovarian reserve is an important thing to consider. This is the quantity and quality of the patient's eggs. Ovarian reserve decreases with age; according to specialists, after the age of 35, the quantity and quality of oocytes decreases markedly.
The problem when a woman decides to start a family on her own is that this decision is usually made around the age of 38 or even later, an age at which the likelihood of achieving pregnancy through artificial insemination is unfortunately quite low.
In order to assess the patient's ovarian reserve, we carry out a complete female fertility check, a crucial step during the first consultation. Several parameters such as age, number of antral follicles and AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) levels are taken into account.
However, once we have completed all the necessary tests, the fertility doctor will decide on the treatment that best suits the patient's needs. After this, it will be time for one of the most frequently questioned steps: choosing the perfect donor.
Women who decide to become single parents are often independent and empowered women who see the years go by, but their desire to start a family remains and even becomes stronger with age.
The profile of a single mother by choice is that of an educated woman who has grown professionally to achieve the economic independence that will allow her to provide an education and all the best for her baby. In many cases, it is a mother who has decided to learn more about herself, grow and even travel to become the woman she is today.
It is also true that they tend to be women with a lot of family support or a circle that will support them when it comes to raising the baby.
A woman who wants to be a single mother knows that she is facing a life-changing decision, that it will be more difficult for her than it will be for a couple. It is simple maths: there are two people for one baby. But even a woman who has decided to become a mother knows that the number of parents has nothing to do with the amount of love she will be able to give the baby alone or with the help of those closest to her.
FIND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
Donation is an altruistic and anonymous act of solidarity. It is carried out under Spanish law, which guarantees the anonymity of the donor and the baby, so their identities will never be known.
Furthermore, in order to guarantee the health of the future baby, exhaustive studies are carried out on the sperm donor, such as advanced seminograms and blood tests, to ensure that they are suitable to donate.
Once the donor is considered suitable for donation, the choice of donor will be made according to phenotypic criteria similar to the mother-to-be. That is, they share physical traits such as: height, build, skin, hair and eye colour, etc.
Nowadays, thanks to reproductive medicine, more and more women are deciding to start a single-parent family. A process that we know is difficult, but, above all, is a courageous and life-changing process.
At IVF-Life we have great specialists in the reproductive sector to help you achieve a common goal: helping you become a mother.
There are no specific restrictions for this type of treatment. The age limit is the same as for women undergoing treatment with a partner. It mainly depends on each person’s ovarian and general health.