They are still only a small share of the total at 4pc but the increase marks a growth of 102pc over only 13 years. More women are pursuing their dreams of motherhood even if they find themselves out of luck with love.ĭata from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) shows that from 2008 to 2020 the number of rounds of IVF and donor insemination by single women more than doubled, from 1,171 to 2,385. I just think 'thank God', I'm not in that scenario,” she says.Īnne’s choice is an increasingly common one.

“I have friends who are in broken marriages and they've had ex-partners who have been abusive, or are just feckless men, drinking and not turning up to see their child regularly. There's an association that there is a sob story if you’re a single parent,” she says. Having her two-and-a-half-year-old son, who she describes as the love of her life, took multiple rounds of IVF, cost thousands of pounds, and came with periods of considerable grief and uncertainty before eventually being successful.īut for Anne, it was empowering: “There is this sort of ‘oh poor you’. She refused to give up on motherhood, however. “You start making yourself smaller so that men can deal with the fact that you’ve had some achievements in your life.” I just didn't see how any of those relationships weren't going to end up in divorce… potentially murder,” she shrugs. “I would have liked to have met a lovely man and had a supportive husband and a father for my children. An ex-boyfriend even complained that she should be more “feminine” about her career. The men she met either felt emasculated by her success, lacked ambition or could not do their own laundry. She tried online dating and cast her net wide – but the catch was usually underwhelming. Anne, a 45-year-old director at an investment bank, had been trying to find a partner for more than a decade to start a family.

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