Two mums, the ROPA method and shared motherhood

As February is the month of love, IVF Spain wanted to tell us this wonderful story of a couple who wanted one thing in life, to have a child and a family

Once upon a time there was a family. A family different from any other family as each person is different in the way they love or are loved, and in the way of building their home on the foundations of said love. In this story, there were two mums who wanted a baby.

Fortunately, society has changed, and we are respectful of all types of families. Love is love. In addition, science and medicine have developed at a parallel rate with our new social reality, thus there are many reproductive options that satisfy new needs, on behalf of our physical and emotional wellbeing.

The same as Ana and Paola who, after a seven-year relationship, they couldn’t comprehend life without each other, they also couldn’t imagine the process of having a baby if it wasn’t with each other. That is why they decided to search for shared motherhood, through the ROPA Method, meaning Reception of Oocytes from Partner. This technique allows for both mothers to actively participate in the conception of their baby.

Through ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval, Ana provided the oocyte that after being fertilised in the laboratory with a sperm from an anonymous donor, was transferred to Paola’s uterus to carry out the pregnancy. Their future baby. Their shared dream.

“Even though it might seem like a cold, medicalised process, where privacy is often lost; it was absolutely not so,” says Paola. “The closeness of our doctor, Dr Natalie Szlarb from IVF Spain, the fact of being able to go through each step process together, seeing how our baby’s development from the moment it was just a few cells, was very emotional.”

Neither felt that they were missing out anything. They will both be mothers to the baby that is on the way. At a biological level, one provides the genes, and the other will carry the pregnancy and give birth.

“When I look at Paola’s pregnant belly, it seems incredible,” saya Ana. “My egg, that tiny cell that had been inside me all my life waiting to become a new human being, is now doing so inside the uterus of the woman I love. There can’t be anything more magical.”

The process itself is like an in-vitro-fertilisation. The mother who will provide the egg follows an ovarian stimulation through a personalised hormone treatment. After oocyte retrieval, oocyte retrieved are fertilised with the sperm of an anonymous donor, the embryo is transferred to the uterus of the recipient mother, who will have previously received a mild treatment in order to prepare her endometrium.

In the ROPA Method, the decision of who is going to provide the eggs and who will carry the pregnancy is decided medically, based on the number of oocytes and their quality of each women participating, always being mindful of their wishes.

At IVF Spain we place all our love on each patient, but also the maximum levels of professionalism. Both the sperm donor and the future mums follow a comprehensive study to guarantee the selection of the most appropriate donor and the viability of the process. Thanks to the most advanced technology, and constant scientific learning, our pregnancy rates are higher than the national average.

As professionals, we are proud to have been pioneers in the use of the ROPA Method, and we are very happy with the number of lesbian couples that have trusted us throughout the years in order to become mothers. Soon we will meet Ana and Paola’s baby. Those are precisely the happy moments that encourage us to continue improving in our work.

To find out more about ROPA and IVF Spain, click here.