Assisted reproduction for single women in France: the steps to take and how to get support?

In France, doing a solo ART has been possible since 2021 — but it is neither instantaneous nor purely medical. It is a two-stage process: an administrative period (to obtain the agreement) then a medical period (to attempt pregnancy).

PMA solo in France: the framework in three sentences

Since the bioethical law, single women can access assisted reproduction with sperm donation in France, in a hospital setting. Before starting the “trials”, you have to go through a administrative path with several mandatory appointments, which often take several months. It is this administrative framework that makes the difference with another procedure, and which guarantees whether or not you will start the course.

Today, you might think that's the most important thing (and it is!). But what's also important is everything else: emotional support, understanding what's next (what happens next?) ; and for that, you can join the free Reflet course dedicated to women who want to start a solo assisted reproduction course!

The “administrative journey”: the 3 key appointments

It can be seen as a gateway: the hospital checks that your project is well thought out, that you understand the medical issues and that you are not totally alone in carrying out this project.

1 - The appointment with the biologist

This is usually the first appointment that the CECOS (center that manages gamete donations) offers you, sometimes 6—8 months after your request.

What is happening in concrete terms:

• You are asked to talk about yourself: age, situation, profession, profession, where you live, your solo parenting project;
• We are interested in your family context (separated or not parents, siblings, friends and family), your home, the way you imagine welcoming a child;
• We talk briefly about your love story: not to unfold your “romantic resume”, but to understand how you arrived at this project (ancient desire for solo motherhood, relationships that did not succeed, time pressure, etc.).

Then, the biologist will mainly explain to you how the procedure is carried out in general, by talking to you about the different options, such as:

• How sperm donation works Sperm donation (tests, criteria, donor profiles);
• the issue of anonymity/access to donor data according to the law;
• the concept of a “profile” of the donor (resemblance or not, and what this implies in terms of time when requesting a rare profile).

We also ask you questions about personal and family health (history, genetic diseases, diabetes, hypertension...) to avoid combining certain risks on the donor side + on the you side.

This appointment is not a job interview: the idea is to open the conversation, not to recite perfect answers. Talking spontaneously about your life, your project and how you anticipate the arrival of a child helps a lot.

2 - The appointment (s) with the psychologist

This stage is often scary, but its objective is clear: to check that you are psychically ready to carry out this project without a spouse, and that you are surrounded.

The psychologist comes back to some points already raised (this is still often the case in this course, to talk about the same things several times ^^). For example, she will discuss with you about:

• Your family and emotional history (overall, not in intimate details).
• Your surroundings today:
  • Who will be there on a daily basis?
  • Who can take over if you are hospitalized or in difficulty?
• How do you plan to Talk about sperm donation and from ART to your future child:
  • At what point do you think to explain her story to her.
  • How would you formulate the fact that there is no dad in the diagram, but a donor.

• Sometimes the question of Male figures (or more generally other reference adults) in the environment is addressed.

It's not a moral exam. But if you discover these questions for the first time in the office, you can be unsettled. Hence the interest in working beforehand: who would I entrust my child to if I was hospitalized, what childcare options, what resource persons around me, etc.

In many CECOS, there are two appointments: one to get to know each other, a shorter one to confirm the decision and the favorable opinion.

3 - The appointment with the gynecologist specializing in ART

Here, we leave the psychological field to enter the pure medical field:

• The gynecologist takes over all your exams (hormonal balance, ultrasound, ovarian reserve, gynecological history).
• She is talking to you about the medical strategy :
  • Intrauterine insemination (IUI) or IVF
  • With or without hormonal stimulation, depending on your profile and preferences.
  • Number of possible attempts.
• She explains the practical process to you:
  • How do the insemination or IVF cycles go.
  • When to come, what medications to take, how do prescriptions work.

After this appointment, depending on the center, you can:

• or receive a decision letter,
• or see the biologist again who confirms theAcceptance of the file, get you to sign the consents, and you officially start the trials.

The other administrative appointments of the PMA course for single women

Before even starting PMA attempts, a trip to the notary is essential. This appointment allows you to formalize your consent: you declare that you are engaging in this project as part of a sperm donation and that you recognize the unborn child. It also recognizes a fundamental point: the donor will have no parentage relationship or any right to assert. In practice, the exchange is often quick, but it deserves to be anticipated, because the certificate will be sent to the hospital and integrated into your file.

Depending on the centers — in particular some CECOS — an appointment with a social worker may also be offered, sometimes presented as “mandatory”. However, it is not a legal condition for accessing assisted reproduction alone, but a choice of internal organization. The interview generally focuses on your professional situation, your housing and the financial resources at your disposal. Some ask for supporting documents (employment contract, pay slips, tax notices), which may seem intrusive.

The stated objective remains to open the discussion on the concrete reality of solo parenting and to inform you about possible aids (CAF, support systems, etc.). An exchange that is sometimes destabilizing, but it can also become a space for asking questions and clarifying your project.

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And now: the real start of the solo PMA journey

Once these appointments have been validated and the consents signed, the “administrative journey” is behind you. The medical journey then begins:

• Programming of insemination or IVF cycles;

• Follow-up of treatments (or spontaneous inseminations if possible in your case);

• Return to the hospital for echoes, blood tests, punctures if necessary.

Only then do you get into the “trying to have a baby” section. It should be noted that at this stage, if you are there, there is a chance that you are in very good health and therefore that your PMA Solo journey will finally happen very quickly ^^. Several testimonies from women in the Reflet community indicated that they became pregnant after the first procedure! That's why it's really ideal to be supported by women who are going through the same thing, and to be accompanied if you feel the need.

The points to remember for your solo PMA

A solo assisted reproduction in France is possible, but you have to accept a fairly long and very focused first beat! Good news, it gives you time to Take care of your oocytes, ofAdopt a pro-fertility diet etc... So that your baby arrives in an ideal environment and that he is in an optimal state of mind!

The three key appointments (biologist, psychologist, gynecologist) are not there to trick you, but to ensure that your project is established, understood, surrounded.

You can arrive already armed:

• having thought about your real surroundings, which are not perfect;
• how you will talk to your future child about the gift
• to the concrete organization of your life (housing, working hours, childcare arrangements).

In any case, if it is your choice and if it is well thought out, everything should be fine. We hope that these first tips have already helped you and we look forward to seeing you soon in the Reflet community.

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