Getty ImagesThe number of single women and female couples undergoing IVF or artificial insemination in the UK has risen over the past decade, a report from the fertility regulator shows.The number of single women having treatment, including in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), has risen from 1,400 in 2012 to 4,800 in 2022, while the number of female couples treated has doubled to 3,300 over the same period.Heterosexual couples still account for nearly 90% of all IVF treatments.A fertility charity said many female couples and single women still faced enormous financial hurdles to prove their infertility before being able to access NHS-funded IVF.Growing numbers of different family groups are seeking fertility treatment.Heterosexual couples had 47,000 IVF or donor insemination (DI) treatments in 2022, up from 45,300 in 2012.But one in six of all private and NHS fertility treatments in the UK is now accessed by single women and female same-sex couples, according to The Human and Fertilisation Embryology Authority (HFEA) report. Laura-Rose ThorogoodLaura-Rose Thorogood, who set up LGBT Mummies, which campaigns for equal access to fertility treatment, and her female partner have spent £50-60,000 on having their four children, over the past 13 years.”It’s been a tumultuous journey – we knew we had to pay for it ourselves and we’ve had to sacrifice lots of things to do it,” she says.Laura-Rose says they feel very lucky to have more than one child and know many other LGBT couples who had to stop trying for children because of the cost.”The whole system needs to be reviewed,” she adds.Many heterosexual couples also describe the challenges of multiple rounds of IVF and the rollercoaster of emotions going through years of treatment.’Expensive treatments’NHS funding for fertility treatment continues to fall.It now pays for just 27% of IVF cycles, down from 40% in 2012.Among 18-39 year olds having their first treatment, heterosexual couples receive 52% of NHS-funded cycles, with female couples accounting for 16% and single women 18% – both a slight rise.The HFEA report says IVF is “one of the most invasive and expensive treatments per cycle”.But more female couples and single women are choosing it, for several reasons, including the:higher birth rates per cyclereduced risk of a twin pregnancy possibility of storing embryos for future treatmentsReciprocal IVF, where one partner provides the eggs (to be fertilised by donor sperm) and the other carries the baby, is also becoming more popular.Overall, one in four IVF treatments resulted in a birth, the report found.IVF birth rates are higher among single women and female couples, who are less likely than heterosexual couples to …
