A new breed of Solo Mum is finally putting the tired old single mother stereotype to bed. According to new figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), over the past year there has been a 22 per cent rise in the number of women who choose to go through IVF on their own - and that is a staggering 226 per cent increase since 2006.
These new Solo Mums are more than just a statistical quirk; in 2013, the year for which figures are most recently available, 952 single mothers-to-be registered at IVF clinics, says the HFEA.
Independent, successful and economically secure, the only thing these women may lack is a man, but they are catered to by internet forums such as Single Mothers By Choice, whose members hail from the UK, USA and Japan, as well as fertility coaches who offer counselling for those wondering whether parenting alone is preferable to not parenting at all.
Some clinics are even actively targeting this new market with "Let's Chill" cocktail parties, where women can explore their egg-freezing options, and seminars aimed at those "contemplating single motherhood".
Just why so many women should opt to go it alone - given that parenting can be a difficult, exhausting job even when it is shared - is being chalked up to multiple factors, with experts speculating that the diminishing stigma attached to single mothers, as well as an increased acceptance of assisted conception, both play a part.
More controversially, others blame the stereotypical career woman putting off starting a family while she secures promotions and partnerships. Conversely, many men (who would already have had several children a generation ago) are supposedly reluctant to commit to marriage or fatherhood, fearful of expensive divorce settlements.
Women may identify most, though, with tales like that of Caroline Young, 40-year-old mother to one-year-old Bobby, who explains: "I didn't meet the right man at the right time, and I had to revise my idea of what my ideal family unit looked like."
Caroline, who lives in the Scottish borders and left a career in the media to retrain as a nutritionist before Bobby's birth, had intended to parent the "traditional" way, but when she reached her late thirties without a serious relationship she began researching her options.
Only her parents and a few friends were let in on her secret, and while Caroline draws an elegant veil over the details of her son's conception, suffice to say it was meticulously planned as a solo venture and she was elated to discover she was pregnant.
"It wasn't easy, but I knew what I was letting myself in for, and there was always someone to help," she says.
Having moved back in with her parents a month before the birth, Caroline was glad to have her mother as a birth partner and, after a four-hour labour, Bobby arrived: "It was shock and love at first sight."
Did the baby's father not enter her head at this point? "Not really. We were a family unit of me, Bobby, Mum and Dad. I never felt there should be another person involved."
Jo Morgan, a 33-year-old teacher from Cwmbran, was spurred to become a Solo Mum by the end of a relationship two years ago. "The break-up was amicable, but we had been trying for children and it was something I wanted to get on with straightaway.
"I didn't want to rush into another relationship just because of my desire to have a baby."
Having been left an inheritance by her father, Jo paid for IVF at the London Women's Clinic, using donated sperm from the US. She became pregnant in 2013 at the second attempt and was so delighted that, after the 12-week scan, she ordered more sperm from the same donor in order to have a genetically identical child at a later date.
Eadie was born in February 2014, with Jo's mother acting as birth partner, and in January of this year, Jo underwent IVF again and is now pregnant with Eadie's full biological brother.
"It was really important to me that Eadie had a sibling to share her background with," she says.
A sperm donor and IVF was the route for Lucy Workman, 43, too; as a result, twins Ned and Nancy were born in July 2012. "People say, 'I'd never do what you've done,'?" says Lucy. "But unless you've been 40 years old without a child you can't know how it feels."
She admits to a "lot of soul-searching", but says: "The twins were as far from being an accident as is possible.
"It was a painful business, emotionally and physically. Some people accused me of being selfish - but now my life is all about children and as unselfish as can be."
Mothers like these are usually "strong women", agrees Dr Amin Gorgy, fertility consultant at the Fertility and Gynaecology Academy. While he believes many would still prefer not to have been through this emotionally and physically draining way of starting a family without a loving partner by their side, he thinks it's a positive that the increasing availability of fertility treatment means women "feel empowered to make their own choices".
Not all Solo Mums are birth mothers, of course. Single adoptive mother and writer @instantmummy (her nom de plume to protect her son's identity) had always planned to adopt, although not as a lone parent initially.
She says: "Even as a child, I never expected to have my own birth children, but to take on a child from care. My brother was an adopted child and so it seemed normal to me, although - as far as I know - there is no reason why I should have not had children naturally.
"I didn't plan to be a lone parent, but after a bereavement at 40 I realised the clock was ticking. When my relationship ended shortly afterwards, I decided to go it alone and fell in love with a troubled four-year-old boy who is now my much-loved son.
"Three years on, parenting a child who has suffered the trauma of losing a birth parent or of significant neglect and abuse, like my son, has been incredibly tough. Alone, especially so.
"A friend of mine referred to single parenting as 'double parenting', as you are both mum and dad, nurturer and disciplinarian, fun parent and working parent, home-maker and wage-earner.
"Being all things at all times isn't easy and I don't have the back up of an ex-partner or another family involved in the child's life. It can be a lonely place, especially during challenging times or when you want to share the joys."
On the upside, she enjoys the freedom of making her own decisions: "I set all boundaries and rules, too, so we are a tight-knit tiny team, and I make sure I am supported by a network of family, friends and adoptive mums, single and otherwise."
As with most other Solo Mums,
@instantmummy is committed to doing everything she can to compensate for the absence of a biological father in her son's life. "I work hard to make sure he has good male role models - his godfathers, his sports coaches, male members of my family. It is crucial."
Jo agrees. She is close to her brother and his two sons, who she hopes will offer plenty of male role modelling, in the absence of a birth dad.
Sophie Zadeh, a researcher at the Centre for Family Research at Cambridge University who has studied hundreds of families - from the traditional to the alternative - says good parents come in all shapes and sizes. "Our research has consistently shown that it's not the structure of families that's the most important, but the quality of parenting and parent-child relationships," she says. Meaning committed Solo Mums may make even more effective parents than a less stable (or loving) traditional set-up.
But what about later, when the children are older - how will Solo Mums explain their decision to go it alone? Says Lucy: "I don't have a crystal ball, so I can't foresee how the twins will react. They already know they don't have a father and they know that lots of children have different-shaped families.
"I do believe that the earlier they understand the reality of their situation, the better, so it won't come as a shock. But a lot can change. I might meet someone and get married, and then they will have a father."
Having the children first has not put any of these women off relationships.
Caroline admits she gave thought to whether having a child might deter a future partner before conception. "But I knew that could be an excuse; I had to get on and decided if I met someone later, they would have to accept the package, not just me."
Says @instantmummy: "Maybe I won't be single for ever, and someone will appear, but they will have to be Mr Right for my son."
Does she rue this added complication in her life? "You could ask that of any parent. Is it fair to ask that of single parents?
"The answer is that I love my child and of course I have no regrets, whatever life throws at us. That is the only answer there is."