This article references baby loss.
IVF is by far the most common fertility treatment available for parents struggling to conceive, but it can be arduous and emotionally fraught – not to mention costly. Here, GLAMOUR speaks to Rosie, who received a partial refund after she and her partner’s first IVF treatment program failed.
This is her story…
Rosie always knew she wanted to be a mum, but the right circumstances never seemed to materialise. That is, until she met Paul, her future husband, at age 37. A year later, they started trying for a baby.
After a few months of trying without success, Rosie and Paul started exploring more options. “We were both getting older, so we decided to look into IVF,” Rosie tells GLAMOUR.
IVF, or in vitro fertilization, is the technique that most people associate with fertility treatment. While success rates for IVF generally decrease as women get older, research from The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) indicates that more people are choosing to have IVF later on, with the average age for women having first-time treatments now over 35.
The research also determined that fewer people are choosing to have IVF on the NHS, with the proportion of IVF cycles funded by the NHS dropping from 40% in 2012 to 27% in 2022. There are complex reasons behind these figures. Clare Ettinghausen from HFEA described IVF in the NHS as a “postcode lottery” with “wide-ranging inequalities.”
For Rosie and Paul to receive IVF on the NHS, they must have been registered at the same NHS trust for at least a year. But Paul had only been registered at the same trust as Rosie for four months. “We just didn’t want to wait for another eight or nine months before we could start treatment on the NHS,” says Rosie.
Instead, Rosie reached out to a private clinic who, after running some tests, determined that the couple would be suitable for IVF treatment. They were referred to Access Fertility, an IVF treatment provider, where they signed up for a three-cycle program. The treatment cost around £12,000 (excluding costs of drugs involved in treatment) and, devastatingly, was unsuccessful.
As part of the Access Fertility program, Rosie and Paul were entitled to a 50% refund. Rosie had doubts about requesting a refund. She tells GLAMOUR: “I expected it to be like, ‘How many hoops am I going to have to jump through? How many forms am I going to sign?’”
In reality, Rosie received her refund within days. “No quibbling, no lengthy process, no lengthy questionnaires or anything like that,” she reflects.
At this point, the IVF process had taken its toll on Rosie and Paul. “I think very naively, we went into it thinking, ‘Oh, we’ll have IVF, and we’ll get pregnant just like that,’” says Rosie. She cites the media coverage of IVF, which tends to prioritise success stories rather than the day-to-day disappointment that many would-be parents must navigate.