FINE GAEL MEP Maria Walsh is 16 weeks pregnant, having conceived a child via IVF.

Walsh shared the news this morning on RTÉ Radio 1′s Brendan O’Connor show.

The 38-year-old, who is gay and currently single, underwent the process to conceive through the use of donated sperm and IVF.

She is due to have her child in mid-October, she told the programme.

Walsh always wanted to be a mother, she said, but she hadn’t initially seen herself doing it solo. “I’m really privileged: I own my home, and at 38 years of age, the clock was kind of ticking.”

The Midlands-North-West MEP used the services of a fertility specialist in Galway. Sperm was selected from the European Sperm Bank, which contains a large volume of details about the donor – Walsh said in some cases there were even baby photos of the donors available, and she pulled out images of her nephew and two nieces to find a donor whose image fit in with her family.

The whole process cost €7,000.

However, it was far from seamless. Various issues arose that meant Walsh had to delay the process, which she found difficult, as well as having undergone the process privately as a single woman.

“Nobody knew for a long, long time that I had been going through it,” she said.

“And because I’m a public figure, social media is not always that kind. So as the pendulum swing of weight was gaining through the fertility journey, people were not as kind about my weight gain online, not knowing my story.”

She ultimately continued on with the process at the end of January and, nine days later had a positive pregnancy test. After a fear that she may miscarry, Walsh said she and her baby are healthy and on track.

The MEP wanted to share her story so she could give some more insight into the process for others considering the IVF route, she said.

As for her political career, she plans to take November as maternity leave and to work remotely from December.

“My team will still be working behind the scenes. I’ve someone in the constituency full time that works and will be representing me.

“So the aim of the game is that constituents don’t feel that I’m gone for so long.”