Shared Motherhood
Shared Motherhood / Reciprocal IVF Treatment
Shared Motherhood or Reciprocal IVF treatment is an IVF treatment where the partner who will carry the pregnancy uses embryos created with their partner’s eggs and sperm from a donor. As such it is the same process as egg donation: Waterstone Clinic has long-standing experience in this area as it has the longest-running egg donation service in Ireland.
As a result of this treatment, one partner will be the genetic parent, and the other partner is the birth parent. Both partners will be included on the baby’s birth certificate.
What is the Process?
One partner will undergo the first stages of an IVF cycle. They will take fertility medication to stimulate the ovaries (superovulation), and have follicular tracking scans, and an egg collection procedure. When the mature eggs are collected, they are inseminated with donor sperm. The partner who will carry the pregnancy takes medication to prepare their uterine lining and then undergoes the embryo transfer procedure.