More women using fertility treatment to go it alone

Single women in their 30s are increasingly choosing to ‘take the future into their own hands’ and have a baby alone, official data shows.

The number of single women having fertility treatment using a sperm donor has more than tripled in Britain over 10 years.

Single women in their 30s are increasingly choosing to “take the future into their own hands” and have a baby alone, official British data shows.

The number of single women having fertility treatment such as IVF using a sperm donor has more than tripled in Britain from 1400 in 2012 to 4800 10 years later, which experts say has coincided with a “reduction in social stigma”.

On average, single women are aged 36 when they start IVF, a year older than women in couples, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Egg freezing has also increased. There were 4600 egg freezing cycles in 2022, up from 2600 in 2019, and 89 per cent of those who have their eggs frozen are single.

Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust, a UK fertility charity, said the trend may be linked to Covid lockdowns.

“Some women may have taken time during this period to reflect on their fertile window, and decided to become single mothers by choice,” she said.

“These women may have found it preferable to take their future into their own hands, rather than wait for a partner who may or may not come along. Such decisions often involve a lot of careful thought, and support from friends and families.”

The fertilisation authority said the number of same-sex female couples having children rose from 1300 in 2012 to 3300 in 2022. However, less than a fifth of single women and same-sex couples get fertility treatment free on Britain’s National Health Service, compared with half of heterosexual couples.

Authority chair Julia Chain said: “We encourage those who commission fertility services to review their eligibility criteria and consider whether these have an adverse impact on access to treatment, and we hope that this report will generate further discussion.”

The Times