JBRA Assist. Reprod. 2025;29(Suppl 1):49-49
POSTER PRESENTATION
doi: 10.5935/1518-0557.20250103
1CEM - Centro de Esterilidad Montevideo
Objective: This study aims to analyze and discuss the concept of "single mother by choice" in women who have used assisted reproduction. It explores their perceptions of motherhood, their motivations, and the impact of public coverage of assisted reproduction treatments on their decision-making process.
Methods: This is a descriptive study. An anonymous survey with open and closed questions was conducted via social networks. The target population consisted of patients and former patients who used assisted reproductive techniques (ART) as single women using a sperm bank in Uruguay. The data analysis focused on perceptions of motherhood, motivational factors, and the influence of regulations on access to public health coverage.
Results: A total of seventy-three responses were obtained.
• Definition of motherhood: 54% of the participants defined their motherhood as chosen, 15% identified as mothers without a partner, 6% as single mothers, and 11% as solo mothers.
• Perception of single motherhood: 37% considered it a decision based on a personal project, while 49% attributed it to external circumstances such as the absence of a partner, being close to 40 years old, or a recent separation. Only 13% stated that their motherhood matched their previous expectations.
• Motivation to start single motherhood: 57% mentioned the desire to be a mother as well as biological factors, 36% emphasized only the desire to be a mother, and 3% based their decision exclusively on biological factors.
• Emotional impact: 60% of the respondents indicated that the process involved a period of grief, while 40% reported not having gone through such a process.
• Influence of public coverage regulations: Public coverage for assisted reproduction treatments in Uruguay must be requested before the age of forty. Fifty-six percent of the respondents stated that the regulations influenced their decision. Within this group, 35.5% were close to turning forty, and 77.4% requested financial aid for treatments through the National Resources Fund (FNR).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that single motherhood in the context of assisted reproduction is perceived primarily as a decision driven by desire but is also shaped by psychosocial, legal, and emotional factors. The absence of a partner and the age limit to access treatments through the FNR emerge as determining factors. It is determined that single motherhood through assisted reproductive technology (ART) is typically not the initial preference, but rather a decision shaped by personal, social, and economic factors. In this context, public health coverage acts as both a facilitator and a limiter. Additionally, the process of single motherhood may involve grief related to the redefinition of the traditional family model or the concept of motherhood without apartner. The necessity to re-evaluate the terminology employed in describing this phenomenon has been highlighted. Although the term "single mother by choice" is widely recognized, it could obscure the emotional processes underlying this decision.