To be annoyed at IVF comments

Luckily never had to have ivf and have had children but totally think it should be allowed on the nhs ( certain amount of goes )
Good luck with your ivf when hopefully it can resume

I've already posted that I agree with the NHS providing IVF treatment.

However I would be interested to know how many patients need NHS IVF for a decline in fertility due to age rather than a medical condition.

It does seem 30 is the new 20 when it comes to having babies to make time for promotions, travelling etc. Which is fine but you lose that safety buffer of time if you do encounter problems.

Out of 100 girls in my school year, only 5 or 6 of us have had babies and we are in our late 20s now. Lots of my friends (that have said they want children) are in a position to start a family now but seem to think of themselves as being far too young, and say it's years away yet

Btw I am absolutely not talking about people that have not found the right person etc, or any other circumstances out of their control. I just wonder whether a more realistic approach to fertility would result in less NHS IVF patients, therefore more resources for genuinely infertile couples to have more rounds of treatment.

@GrumpyHoonMain your figures are misleading. Private IVF in nearby European countries is much cheaper than that (in normal times at least) and the NHS has no effect on what other countries charge.

There is certainly profiteering which is why I argued earlier that the NHS should provide unbiased information.

Yanbu. My inability to conceive caused all sorts of issues. We didn't qualify for IVF only IUI. Thankfully it wasn't required but I absolutely believe up to 2 attempts should be funded.

I've silently played infertility bingo many a time, each time realising people don't have a clue. Each failed IVF, miscarriage, Ectopic is a painful grief. You live life on a monthly grief cycle, month after month, year after year. Life is very empty. It's why we work hard, to buy the nice house, to have the money for holidays, to give our children a bright future. When they don't come you wonder what the point is.

All of this.

Iv stated my personal opinion as that’s how i think and feel, I will not be getting into a debate about what should of shouldn’t be funded on the nhs as it’s never ending.

I don’t have to justify why I think that way.

@celerysam - I agree with you. I spent 10 years ttc and 5 of them trying a range of IVF treatments. Felt so bitter than while the NHS didn’t take my medical conditions seriously (PCOS, thyroid antibodies, rare clotting disorder) the private sector did and does. If I had, had Bupa from my twenties while the damage could still be reversed I would have gotten my baby within months without the need for IVF. Our health system only really works for the rich (as seen by the celebrities who have paid for Covid-19 tests or got them for free) and until that changes IVF definitely needs to be funded by the NHS.

I should say, no one knows the pain of infertility other than those that walked the road. It's so easy to say IVF shouldn't be funded when your kids came along after 5 minutes of fun.

I've silently played infertility bingo many a time, each time realising people don't have a clue. Each failed IVF, miscarriage, Ectopic is a painful grief. You live life on a monthly grief cycle, month after month, year after year. Life is very empty. It's why we work hard, to buy the nice house, to have the money for holidays, to give our children a bright future. When they don't come you wonder what the point is.

Ask those people if they would give their children back and live their lives without them?

Ivf can save a life. Infertility can cause severe depression and anxiety. It can most definitely save a future parents’ life.

Some of the comments on here make me so angry. Ignore them op, mumsnet seems to be full of rich all right jack cows lately. Don't be taking their comments on board, they either haven't got a clue whats it like or B they rich as f*!! I hope after all this you get your baby

@SunShine682

There are many conditions the NHS treats that improves wellbeing and quality of life. Eczema is treated and in most cases, isn’t life altering. Hey fever, ditto. Osteoarthritis - pain relief and physio - as joint replacements often aren’t needed, so it’s mainly symptom management for many years. Will
a woman who’s had a mastectomy die without reconstructive surgery? No but we fund it because we recognise it can hugely improve quality of life. Where does it end?

@SunShine682

IVF can save a life. Not everything is done by the NHS to stop someone from dying - sometimes it is done to improve the quality of a life.

Go read some of the posts from women on here who are severely impacted by infertility, some of whom who have tried to take their own life or had a partner who sadly took his own life.. If that doesn't move you and make you think that the NHS should help these women, you are beyond reasoning with.

@feelinguseless78 - the only reason you could AFFORD private treatment is because the NHS funds it in the UK (and funds it indirectly in terms of research around the world). When it stops then IVF prices around the world would become on a level with the USA (possibly even higher) making it the preserve of the rich. Could you still afford £30,000- £60,000 per cycle?

Lifestyle choice illnesses are covered on the NHS, obesity causes a myriad of health issues snc is entirely chosen. Type 2 diabetes is manged or even reversible by improving lifestyle and yet they are available on the NHS.

Having PCOS, endometriosis, missing tubes because of ectopic pregnancy are all illnesses outside of your control and cause infertility. It absolutly should be funded.

@DellAmorenonsisa

Some of us care, we care very much. I haven’t been through it but I can empathise and continue to support access to IVF on the NHS. Please don’t let a very keyboard warriors drive you away. Most of us do not think this way.

@bee222 see what l mean. Lots of smug lm alright Jacks

Infertility is not a disease. It may be caused by a disease but is not one in and of itself

You could say the same of blindness/deafness.

Not critical to life, but a human being should have a reasonable expectation of reproducing, just as they have a reasonable expectation of seeing/hearing.

Having a baby creates a life?

@feelinguseless78

thats nice that you could afford to pay for it. What do you suggest women on low incomes do? just suck it up and deal with it?

@Daftodil - having a liver transplant or a new kidney will save someone’s life.
Having a baby will not save that persons life. It’s completely different and not comparable.

Having a baby is a want and not a need. People need transplants and cancer treatments to live.

given that nature wouldn’t have given you one anyway?

If we went by what nature wanted then most women and babies would die in childbirth . Thank goodness medical progress means we can circumvent nature in this regards.

The only good thing coming out of this is seeing the solidarity of support from women who have all sadly had to go through IVF/infertility/miscarriages. Gives me hope that the whole world isn't just a massive trash bin fire

Stay strong

IVF should not be funded by the NHS. Infertility is not a disease. It may be caused by a disease but is not one in and of itself. There's lots of things that shouldn't be provided on the NHS which are simply quirks of the human condition.

And yes, I've got 2 children. We needed fertility treatment to have DC1. We paid privately for it.

The other disease this country suffers from is wilful selfishness. It permeates everything from Brexit, to racism Harry & Meg, to the attitude to Covid 19, to IVF.

The sooner we face how sick some people's minds is the sooner we can fix it. The only common values these people share is the desire to break the country bit by bit.

IVF is a right in 2020. No woman should be shamed for using it. Anyone in the public space bleating it takes away from other 'essential' services needs to hear 2 words: your sacked.

In my case if the NHS treated thyroid antibodies, PCOS and rare blood clotting disorders seriously then I would never have needed IVF. But it doesn’t so I spent 10 years ttc before IVF finally gave me a child in my private cycle. While this ignorance for basic female health issues continues IVF should be available on the NHS.