National Fertility Awareness Week: IVF League Table Reveals Postcode Lottery For Treatment Across The UK | HuffPost Life

'The scale of disinvestment in NHS fertility services is at its worst.'

By

Life editor at HuffPost UK

The number of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England offering the recommended three IVF cycles to women under 40 has halved in the last five years, a report has found.

Just 12% of local medical centres now follow national NICE guidance of providing three cycles, down from 24% in 2013.

The number of CCGs offering one NHS-funded IVF cycle is 61%, up from 49% in 2013.

However, seven CCGs have stopped offering NHS IVF services entirely.

The figures, released to mark the beginning of National Fertility Awareness Week by campaign group Fertility Fairness, were drawn from analysis of 208 CCGs across England.

MidoSemsem via Getty Images

Fertility Fairness has drawn up an IVF league table, which ranks NHS CCGs in different areas of England.

They looked at:

* Number of cycles offered.

* Definition of one cycle.

* Age range of women IVF is offered to.

* How long couple have to have been trying to conceive before they are offered IVF.

* Restrictions on whether IVF will be offered to people who have children.

The league table showed a striking difference between accessibility in the south of England compared to the north: Just three CCGs located in the south offer three IVF cycles, while 21 CCGs offer three cycles in the north.

The definition of “one cycle” also varies from one CCG to another.

NICE guidelines define a full cycle as “one round of ovarian stimulation followed by the transfer of all resultant fresh or frozen embryos”. However, nearly half of all CCGs (49%) only transfer a finite number of embryos, rather than all embryos.

Some CCGs have different age criteria for access to NHS IVF.

Nearly half of all CCGs (48%) do not offer NHS IVF to women aged 40-42 and 10% refuse access to NHS IVF if women are over 35.

Sarah Norcross, co-chair of Fertility Fairness said: “The scale of disinvestment in NHS fertility services is at its worst since NICE introduced national fertility guidelines in 2004.

“Fertility Fairness is calling for full implementation of the NICE guidelines, standardisation of eligibility criteria across England and the development of a national tariff in England for tertiary fertility services - eliminating regional cost variants and removing a key barrier to CCGs’ compliance with national guidelines.”

Responding to the findings, an NHS England spokesperson said: “Ultimately these are legally decisions for CCGs, who are under an obligation to balance the various competing demands on the NHS locally while living within the budget parliament has allocated.”

KatarzynaBialasiewicz via Getty Images

IVF League Table: The Ratings For CCGs That Offer Three Cycles Of IVF

1. NHS Bury CCG

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 23-39, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years (one year for those aged 36 and over).

Previous children: No living children from current relationship and at least one partner childless from previous relationship.

1. NHS Heywood, Middleton And Rochdale

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 23-39, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years (one year for those aged 36 and over).

Previous children: No living children from current relationship and at least one partner childless from previous relationship.

1. NHS Oldham

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 23-39, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years (one year for those aged 36 and over).

Previous children: No living children from current relationship and at least one partner childless from previous relationship.

1. NHS Tameside And Glossop

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers

Age range offered to: 23-39, 40-42

Time trying to conceive: Two years (one year for those aged 36 and over)

Previous children: No living children from current relationship and at least one partner childless from previous relationship.

2. NHS Bassetlaw

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 18-40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Cumbria

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Darlington

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Durham Dales, Easington And Sedgefield

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Halton

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 23-39, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years (one year for those aged 36 or over).

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Knowsley

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 23-39, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Newcastle Gateshead

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS North Durham

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS North Tyneside

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Northumberland

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS South Sefton

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 23-39, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS South Tees

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS South Tyneside

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Southport and Formby

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 23-39, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Sunderland

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

2. NHS Thurrock

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No answer provided.

2. NHS Warrington

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: 24-40 (three cycles), 40-42 (one cycle).

Time trying to conceive: Two years.

Previous children: No living children.

3. NHS Camden

Definition of one cycle: One fresh transfer and all viable frozen transfers.

Age range offered to: Under 40, 40-42.

Time trying to conceive: Two years or one year if they’re aged 36 or over.

Previous children: No living children from current relationship and at least one partner childless from previous relationship.

4. NHS Luton

Definition of one cycle: A maximum of six embryo transfers with a maximum of three fresh transfers.

Age range offered to: 23-40, 42.

Time trying to conceive: Three years.

Previous children: No living children.

View the full IVF NHS league table here.

Before You Go

10 Things You May Not Know About Your Fertility

(01 of10)

1. Your fertility is mostly determined by genetics, which influences how many eggs you are born with. Doctors believe that the number of eggs you have at birth determines the length of time you will remain fertile. At birth, women have about two million eggs in their ovaries. For every egg ovulated during your reproductive life, about 1,000 eggs undergo programmed cell death. Other things, such as smoking cigarettes and certain types of chemotherapy, can accelerate egg cell death and promote an earlier menopause.

(02 of10)

2. Regular menstrual cycles are a sign of regular ovulation.Most women have regular cycles lasting between 24 and 35 days. This is usually a sign of regular, predictable ovulation. Women who do not ovulate regularly have irregular menstrual cycles. Those who do not ovulate at all may have a genetic condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

(03 of10)

3. Basal temperature charting does not predict ovulation.An older method of tracking ovulation involves taking your oral body temperature each morning before getting out of bed. This is called basal body temperature. This method is used to spot a rise in basal temperature, which is a sign that progesterone is being produced. The main problem with using this method is that your temperature rises after ovulation has already occurred. This makes it more difficult to time intercourse at an optimal time for conception. A better method is to use over-the-counter urine ovulation predictor test kits such as Clearblue Easy. These kits test for the hormone that prompts ovulation, which is called luteinizing hormone (LH).

(04 of10)

4. Most women with blocked fallopian tubes are completely unaware they may have had a prior pelvic infection.About 10 percent of infertility cases are due to tubal disease, either complete blockage or pelvic scarring causing tubal malfunction. One major cause of tubal disease is a prior pelvic infection from a sexually transmitted disease such as chlamydia. These infections can cause so few symptoms that you may be completely unaware your tubes are affected. This is why fertility physicians will order a dye test of the tubes, called a hysterosalpingogram (HSG), if you have been trying and failing to conceive for 6 months or longer.

(05 of10)

5. In most cases, stress does not cause infertility. Except in rare cases of extreme physical or emotional distress, women will keep ovulating regularly. Conceiving while on vacation is likely less about relaxation than about coincidence and good timing of sex.

(06 of10)

6. By age 44, most women are infertile, even if they are still ovulating regularly. Even with significant fertility treatment, rates of conception are very low after age 43. Most women who conceive in their mid-40s with fertility treatment are using donated eggs from younger women.

(07 of10)

7. Having fathered a pregnancy in the past does not guarantee fertility. Sperm counts can change quite a bit with time, so never assume that a prior pregnancy guarantees fertile sperm. Obtaining a semen analysis is the only way to be sure the sperm are still healthy!

(08 of10)

8. For the most part, diet has little or nothing to do with fertility. Despite popular press, there is little scientific data showing that a particular diet or food promotes fertility. One limited study did suggest a Mediterranean diet with olive oil, fish and legumes may help promote fertility.

(09 of10)

9. Vitamin D may improve results of fertility treatments. A recent study from the University of Southern California suggested that women who were undergoing fertility treatments, but had low vitamin D levels, might have lower rates of conception. This vitamin is also essential during pregnancy. At Pacific Fertility Center, we recommend our patients take 2,000-4,000 IU per day.

(10 of10)

10. Being either underweight or overweight is clearly linked with lowered levels of fertility. The evidence in recent years is that obesity is clearly linked with a longer time to conception. Having a body mass index less than 18 or over 32 is associated with problems ovulating and conceiving, as well as problems during pregnancy.

Suggest a correction

|