Traditionally, starting a family required a man and a woman to engage in sexual intercourse, and the intended mother would carry the baby. With advancements in reproductive medicine, however, there are more options for single people to start family building on their own. Check out the options for single adults.
Non-traditional Family Building
The World Health Organization is offering a little help to non-traditional families by altering the definition of “infertility.” A new proposal will allow single men to raise children from a surrogate mother, and allow the condition “infertility” to include:
- Singles who wish to start a family without a partner
- Relationships that cannot result in offspring, like gay and lesbian couples
As a result, more single individuals and gay couples now have access to fertility treatments options that will help them begin their family building.
“I want to start a family, but I’m single.”
Single and Gay Men
Single men and gay couples can start their family through the help of surrogacy and egg donation. Family building with in vitro fertilization requires the intended father’s sperm, a donor egg and a gestational carrier. The egg donor and surrogate can sometimes be a family member or friend, but a lot of the time, people will find assistance from a third party parenting agency.
Single and Gay Women
Single women and lesbian couples can find reproductive assistance through artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization with donor sperm. Donated sperm can be from a family member or friend, or it can be from a sperm bank.
Many couples wish to include both partners in the conception process. An advanced procedure allows for one woman to provide the eggs, while the other partner carries the pregnancy.
Discover Your Options
Here at The Fertility Center of Las Vegas, we strive to be compassionate and all-inclusive. No matter what type of family you would like to build, we can help you. See all our fertility treatments options.
