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The number of single women turning to IVF or artificial insemination in the UK has increased more than threefold over the past ten years. The report by the fertility regulator found that from 2012 to 2022, the number of women having fertility treatment on their own rose from 1,400 to 4,800. Experts attribute the increase to factors such as more women putting off having children until they are older and finding it difficult to find a stable partner.
Financial barriers continue to be an obstacle to single parenthood through fertility treatment with IUI, not being routinely offered on the NHS, while accessibility to IVF funding depends on location in the UK. In England, decisions are made locally about what’s funded, while Scotland does not offer fertility treatment to single women. In most cases, women have to pay for at least six cycles of artificial insemination before being accepted for NHS-funded IVF.
Whilst barriers remain, single women planning parenthood through artificial insemination or IVF portray positive outcomes. They have autonomy over the decision-making and, in most cases, have good support networks. Gina, who describes herself as a solo mum, had a close family network, with her sister attending the gender scan, and her mum being her birthing partner. She said she didn’t “remember having any anxiety” about the prospect of single parenthood. Sophie, who is in the RAF, while buying into the process at a cost of about £30,000 considers herself a solo parent.
Dr Catherine Hill from Fertility Network UK suggested that as women increasingly become aware of their own “limitations when it came to fertility” they are taking the issue “into their own hands”. Whilst societal attitudes around single parenthood have changed, Hill called for policy change and more affordable financial plans to support parenthood. As Hill stated, “what’s needed now is for policy to catch up with those changes.
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