One in six of all private or NHS fertility treatments in the UK is accessed by single women or female couples, according to a report from the fertility regulator.
The number of single women having these treatments, 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.
The Human and Fertilisation Embryology Authority (HFEA) report says heterosexual couples had 47,000 IVF or donor insemination (DI) treatments in 2022, up from 45,300 in 2012.
While growing numbers of different family groups seek fertility treatment, NHS funding for these treatments continues to fall.
Just 27% of IVF cycles are paid for by the NHS, down from 40% in 2012.
Of these NHS-funded cycles, 86% are 18-39-year-olds having their first treatment, according to the HFEA.
Heterosexual couples in this position 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 cycle
- reduced risk of a twin pregnancy
- possibility of storing embryos for future treatments
Reciprocal 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.
But IVF birth rates are higher among single women and female couples, who are less likely to be having the treatment because of infertility problems than heterosexual couples, who may also be waiting for other treatment.
The chances of qualifying for NHS funding depends on where the patients live.
In England, NHS funding depends on criteria set by local integrated-care boards, which vary widely – whereas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, there is a national policy.
In Scotland, 78% of IVF cycles are NHS funded, compared with 53% in Wales and 45% in England.
But Scotland does not fund fertility treatment for single women.
The previous government said it would remove barriers to treatment for female couples in England, who, in most areas, have to pay for at least six cycles of artificial insemination before being accepted for NHS-funded IVF.
But the charity Fertility Network UK said: “This has not yet happened, leaving female same-sex couples and single women who want to become parents having to pay, if they are able to, for their own medical treatment.”
Stonewall, which advocates for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, said urgent change was needed so everyone who wanted children had the same access to services
The HFEA said it encouraged healthcare providers “to make sure the information they provide represents the diversity of families and patients accessing treatment”.