Options Of Fertility Treatments For Single Women Wanting A Baby

These days, lots of women will think about starting a family without a partner and it is becoming increasingly common for single women to enquire about having children by themselves. For some women, this will be the only chance they have to become a mother and thankfully, there are a number of fertility treatments for single women that can be beneficial in this regard. 

Whether you’re a single woman who is wanting to start a family or you already have children but you’d now like to have more, it is recommended that you turn to an experienced fertility specialist who will be able to help you plan your fertility journey and put together a personalised treatment plan for you. However, if you’d like to learn more about what you’re likely fertility options will be before doing so, keep reading today. 

Undergoing a fertility MOT 

It is likely that before discussing the different fertility treatment options for single women with you, specialists will recommend that you undertake a ‘fertility MOT’. This comprehensive test will help to identify any potential fertility problems and ensure that specialists have all the information they require to suggest the most suitable fertility treatments for you. 

Fertility treatments with donated sperm 

It goes without saying that if you’re a single woman wanting to have a baby, you will require donated sperm for all fertility options available. Thankfully, many private fertility clinics will work with local and international sperm banks, so you will have the flexibility to choose sperm donations that meet all of your requirements.

Some of the most commonly recommended fertility treatments using donated sperm include;

Artificial insemination/intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

This is one of the most straightforward fertility treatments for single women. Simply put, artificial insemination, also known as intrauterine insemination (IUI), involves placing washed sperm from the donor into the womb. 

Commonly, this treatment is undertaken alongside your natural menstrual cycle, but if required, fertility drugs can be used for ovulation induction. The IUI procedure is only a minor outpatient procedure, so it is one of the least invasive options available. 

Due to the fact this treatment places high concentrations of good quality sperm close to the egg in the womb, it increases the changes that the sperm will find the egg and therefore, increases the chances of you falling pregnant. 

In vitro fertilisation (IVF)

This is a slightly more complicated fertility treatment, but it is another that is frequently used to help single women wanting to start a family. In vitro fertilisation (IVF) involves removing eggs from your ovaries and fertilising them with donated sperm in a laboratory. 

More often than not, the IVF treatment uses different kinds of fertility drugs throughout the different stages of the treatment. However, natural cycle IVF is available too, and it is worthwhile considering this alternative if you have a regular menstrual cycle and do not wish to take stimulation drugs. 

IVF with donor sperm is exactly the same as IVF with a male partner and you even have the option for any remaining viable good quality embryo/s that aren’t used during your treatment cycle to be frozen. This means they can be used in future if you’d like to have another baby. 

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

This treatment is commonly used by couples who have male fertility problems, however, it can also be used to achieve egg fertilisation by single women too. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is quite similar to IVF, but it is more targeted. 

Whilst IVF involves donor sperm being placed near your eggs in a dish, ICSI involves a single sperm being injected directly into an egg. The rest of the stages of these two fertility treatments, such as egg collection and embryo transfer, are the same however. 

Depending on a number of different factors, ICSI may be more suitable and more likely to be successful than IVF. A specialist will be able to advise you as to whether it is worthwhile considering in your individual situation. 

Reaching out to a clinic for fertility treatments as a single woman 

Hopefully, you will now know a little bit more about the most commonly recommended fertility treatments for single women. Thankfully, just because you’re trying to conceive independently doesn’t mean that your options are limited in terms of treatment, so it is likely that when you visit a fertility clinic, you will be able to find a solution that you feel comfortable with. Remember, you’re not alone in this, there are lots of specialists that are here to help you. 

Should you have any questions at all about any of the fertility treatments mentioned above or if you’d like to speak to someone about starting your fertility journey today, please feel free to contact us here at London IVF and Genetics Centre. Our incredibly experienced team have worked with single women in the past to help them start a family and we will gladly sit down with you to explore the various options that would be clinically suitable and acceptable to you.