As Kate Shelley approached 40, she decided it was time to start her family. Since she didn’t have a partner, she chose IVF. She had always promised herself that she would do that if she didn’t have children by her 40th birthday. The closer that day got, the more she considered the process. Shelley says she knew she would feel like she missed out on something very important if she didn’t have a child of her own, and not having a partner in her life wasn’t going to stop her from making that dream come true.

Choosing IVF worked out well for Shelley, but it wasn’t the first option she considered. Initially, she had talked with a platonic friend who was also a former partner, about conceiving a child and co-parenting. After a lot of discussion, they decided that wouldn’t be the right choice for them. She then had fertility tests done, and was told by several doctors that her results were good, but she had only a 3% chance of pregnancy with her own eggs, due to age. That was the first time she learned that the quality of eggs declines as women get older.

The Evewell Clinic, though, gave Shelley hope by saying she could likely conceive through IVF while still using her own eggs. Then the question became who’s sperm to use. The UK doesn’t allow photos for sperm donors, so Shelley would only know their beliefs, characteristics, and hobbies, and information about their looks. She signed up to sperm banks in Denmark and the United States, because those countries had photos and she wanted to know what her baby’s sperm donor actually looked like.

She had her IVF transfer just shortly before everything shut down due to the pandemic, and there was only one embryo created. Her pregnancy was delicate, and she stayed at her parents’ home in Wales. She returned to London when her daughter was eight months old, and admits that it was difficult to parent alone. However, she wouldn’t change it, and knows she made the right decision to have her beautiful child.

We aim to provide our clients with a straightforward breakdown of what might seem to be a complicated and daunting process so that they can enjoy the beautiful experience of bringing a child into the world through assisted reproductive technology. Contact us today to learn more!