There are more and more single mothers who for different reasons choose this option to fulfil their wish to become mothers.
In Spain, the previous Law 35/1988 already allowed these kinds of treatment on all women in its Statement of Reasons: “…through respect for women’s rights to found their own family under the terms stipulated by the international agreements and pacts guaranteeing the equality of women, the Law must eliminate any limit that undermines their will to procreate and constitute the kind of family they may consider freely and responsibly”.
In article 6 of Law 14/2006 still in force on Assisted Human Reproduction Techniques, it explains that: “Every woman over 18 years of age with full capacity to act may be a receptor or user of the techniques regulated by this Law, provided they have given their written consent to their use freely, expressly and with awareness.
Women may be users or receptors of the techniques regulated in this Law, independently of their marital status or sexual orientation.”
From the beginning, in the Spanish IVI Clinics we have been carrying out assisted reproduction treatment on women with no partner or homosexual women to help them in their intention to have a child.
Our aim is for the first contact with the treatment to be as simple and natural as possible. Firstly, an appointment is arranged with the gynaecologist who will be responsible for your treatment, specifying then the most suitable procedure for your case. The main treatment options are intrauterine insemination (IUI) with semen from a donor or In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF). In the latter case it is also possible to resort to double donation of female and male gametes or the transference of pre-embryos donated by other couples. The choice of the most suitable gametes is made by the medical team, seeking the greatest phenotypic and immunological similarities with the receptor.
The treatment most commonly applied to women with no partner – or no male partner – is IUI. The probability of becoming pregnant with this technique is exactly the same as in a sexual relationship with a partner, provided that this treatment option is considered within the woman’s fertile age.
The other treatments will be applied successively if pregnancy is not achieved and the patient wishes to fulfil her desire to become a mother, or else if IUI is not clinically recommended.