For an increasing number of couples in the UK, assisted conception might be their only remaining chance of having a baby. It's useful to know the success rate stats for IVF so you can manage your expectations.
That is not to say that you should not consider it seriously if you both feel it is right, but it is worth bearing in mind that it is not a magic-wand solution.
IVF - part of the maternity landscape
These days, about one per cent of all births in the UK are the result of IVF or Donor Insemination. Click here for more about the various options you can look at for 'assisted conception'.
In the UK three-quarters of IVF treatment is paid for privately (the NHS pays for about one quarter). The National Insititute for Clinical Excellence offers guidelines that couples should be offered up to three cycles of IVF treatment on the NHS if the woman is aged 23 to 39, and if a cause for infertility has been identified (or the couple have be trying unsuccessfully, for three years). The Government's own recommendation to local health authorities, is that all women with appropriate clinical need should be given at least one cycle on the NHS, but that those local health authorities could choose their own criteria for offering NHS treatment.
IVF and donor insemination
The average success rate for IVF treatment using 'fresh eggs' in the UK, based on the most recent stats collected, offers just over 28 per cent chance for women under 35, with a decreasing success rate to just over 10 per cent for women aged 40 to 42.
The success rate of conception and pregnancy using donor sperm insemination produce quite low success rates. Currently around 14 per cent for women under 35, dropping to just under five per cent for women aged 40 to 42.
For more about what assisted conception entails, what fertility clinics have to offer, and advice on decision-making, visit www.hfea.gov.uk.