when she crossed the age of 35 anindita sarbadhicari decided she didnt want to wait any longer to become a mother even though she wasnt married or in a relationship i realised that my biological clock was ticking and there was no man around me with whom i would want to bring a child into the world says the kolkatabased filmmaker who then turned to a fertility specialist to realise her dream a year later she gave birth to her son agnisanto through ivf in 2013sarbadhicari was among the first unmarried mothers in india to openly share her story with the world but now doctors say the number of single women opting for elective motherhood is rising over the last five years we have three to four women coming forward every month to freeze their eggs or opt for in vitro fertilisation ivf or intrauterine insemination iui says dr firuza parikh director fertiltree jaslok fertility centredr rita bakshi chairperson of the international fertility centre agrees the world is opening up to the idea of single parenthood earlier we would see women walking in but now we see supportive families with them bakshi says their profile has also changed from the very rich to the uppermiddle class most of them have good careers they havent found the right partner but are not waiting for marriage she addsof course prospective single mothers have to go through psychological counseling and screening where they are asked about their reasons for going it alone family support financial situation and educational qualifications among other things once approved they list their preferences for a suitable sperm donor unlike their western counterparts indian sperm banks dont share photos of donors so one has to be content with details such as height weight education and of course complexion in india most women look at height and education says dr bakshicollege professor amrita 36 used her own eggs and opted for a sperm donor from an academic background like herself many people asked me why dont you get remarried instead what will you put as the fathers name says amrita who decided to become a mother in 2015 over a decade after the end of a painful marriage i wanted a reason to come back home after work she saysone of the early movers was chandigarhbased journalist nanki hans who travelled to the uk where her mother worked in the social services to give birth to her son sufi through ivf in 1997 she was then 34 in india the doctor would have first asked for my husbands name my son was born in england where it was only the mother that counted when she came back hans encountered some biases but no active hostility there were certain mothers who didnt want their children to play with my son but the beejis elderly women in the neighbourhood were least bothered where he came from and loved him she says nanki hans wih her sonit took a lot of convincing to