I was still single at 25 so had a donor’s baby via IVF – I had to buy the sperm separately…Now I’m 29 & doing it again
NURSE Keira Parker always dreamed of being a young mum.
So much so, the 29-year-old made the bold decision to have IVF as a single woman in her twenties, with a four-year-old son conceived in 2020 and hopefully another bun in the oven this year.
Growing up with parents considered to be “the old mum and dad”, Keira desperately wanted to raise her kids in her twenties.
But as that decade began to rattle past without a boyfriend to fulfil her dream with, she decided to pay for private in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment and sperm donor.
Keira welcomed her son, Noah, back in 2021 and now, at 29-years-old, is planning to give him a sibling the same way.
Unable to access fertility treatment through the NHS due to not having a diagnosis of infertility, Keira financed the entire process herself.
She found a clinic in Manchester that offered an “affordable” all-inclusive IVF package for £2,500, alongside a service specifically designed for single women like her.
“The only extra thing I had to buy on top was sperm, which was definitely the weirdest purchase I think I’ve ever made,” she said.
After passing a “fertility MoT”, the clinic successfully retrieved six eggs from her ovaries – and they all fertilised, something which is considered rare in the world of IVF.
Keira considers herself “very lucky” that the treatment worked on the first attempt and has since stored her remaining embryos for future use. Under her current plan, it looks like she’ll be using them to expand her family this year.
“I always wanted to get married at a really young age and have a baby,” Keira, from Mansfield, revealed in an interview with The Times.
“I think it’s because, growing up, my mum and dad were always known as the old mum and dad.
“I hated it, even though my mum was 32 when she had me and 33 when she had my sister, which I know now isn’t really that old at all.”
Though she had always planned to have children in the context of a relationship, by the time she turned 25-years-old and still hadn’t found Mr Right, she made the decision to pursue fertility treatment instead.
“I desperately wanted a relationship but it never happened for me,” she said. “I’d just not met the right person or I’d had really bad experiences.”
So, Keira began exploring fertility treatment and sperm donors to fulfil her dream of being a young mum.
What is IVF?
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a fertility treatment to help women get pregnant. Eggs are fertilised with sperm in a laboratory and the embryo is placed in the womb.
A full cycle of IVF takes around three to six weeks to complete. It usually follows six steps, depending on the type of treatment you’re having.
- You use an injection or nasal spray every day for two to three weeks to stop your ovaries producing eggs naturally. You’ll have an ultrasound scan to check if the medicine has worked.
- Once your ovaries are no longer producing eggs, you’ll inject yourself every day for two weeks with medicine that increases your egg supply. You’ll have tests or scans to check how well it’s working.
- A doctor at the clinic collects your eggs using a needle inserted through your vagina. This takes around 20 minutes and you’ll be offered medicine that makes you sleepy (a sedative).
- Your partner is asked to give a sperm sample in a private room, usually while your eggs are being collected. If you’re using donor sperm, it will be ready in the laboratory.
- The eggs are fertilised with the sperm in a laboratory. The clinic will call you the next day to let you know how many embryos have been made and how many they might be able to use.
- After a few days, an embryo is put in your womb using a thin tube inserted through your vagina. If you have more than one embryo, your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of putting in more than one embryo.
If any suitable embryos are left over, they may be frozen for future IVF attempts. The clinic will discuss this with you and let you know about any additional costs, such as embryo storage.
Source: NHS
“I’ve always been really independent,” she added.
“I went to university when I was 20, graduated at 23 as a nurse and then bought my first house at 24. I just thought, ‘I’ve got the house and the career, why am I waiting around?’”
Another key motivator in her decision to go it alone was her father’s terminal cancer diagnosis, as she wanted her beloved dad to experience being a grandfather to her children.
“I always said to myself I wanted to be done with having kids by the time I’m 30, although that’s probably not going to happen now as I’ll be at least 31 by the time I have a second,” she added.
Last year, birth rates in the UK reached their lowest level on record and the average age of first-time mothers rose above 30 for the first time
Office for National Statistics
Keira’s decision to become a young mum goes against the grain of many millennials and Gen Zers, who are increasingly putting off motherhood due to rising social and financial pressures.
In fact, birth rates in the UK reached their lowest level on record last year, and the average age of first-time mothers rose above 30 for the first time, according to Office for National Statistics data.
Keira admits that there are moments when she feels “guilty” that her son Noah doesn’t have a “hands-on dad” in his life, but she’s also confident in her ability to provide for him.
“I work full-time, I’m not eligible for any benefits whatsoever and I’m doing a master’s degree,” she said.
I desperately wanted a relationship but it never happened for me… I work incredibly hard to give my son the life that I feel he deserves
Keira Parker
“I work incredibly hard to give my son the life that I feel he deserves.”
The doting mum decided to share her story on social media – and it seems the journey is resonating with tens of thousands of other women.
She has totted up 55,600 followers on TikTok and a cool 15,000 on Instagram.
Keira she is now contacted daily by young women who want to follow the same route.
She is booked in for an updated fertility check at the end of the month and plans to have one of her stored embryos implanted soon after.
“I’ll never regret the way I brought Noah into the world,” Keira said. “All I ever wanted was to be a mum and have a family.”