Are the armed forces entitled to ivf??

[sophiesophie88]

Hi I was wondering if anyone has any more info on ivf treatments through the armed forces. My oh is in the army and we have been together almost 9years 4 of which we have tried to conceive but failed and we have just be told that we are eligible for ivf through the NHS. Does anyone know whether you need to be married to be entitled to have ivf through armed forces and also how many attempts. Other information would also be appreciated

Many thanks x x

I thought that everyone (who experienced trouble conceiving) was entitled to one cycle of IVF anyway regardless of who they worked for.

I can't see that the armed forces thing is relevant. As for how many goes- depends where you live unfortunately. It's a postcode lottery.

You might be better off asking on the forces board, do the forces and family have their own clinical commissioning group/s? It is the CCG that decides the criteria for their own group.

Someone did mention it but still waiting for a response from the oh, if this is true or no.

I live in an area where only one treatment is available as I understand as you said chattycat it definately is a post code lottery, some places entitled to 1 and some up to 3

Also what does ccg mean oddboots, sorry am new to this and still getting used to the abbreviations lol

CCG = Clinical commissioning groups - you can usually check which yours is by postcode here but it might be different for the services.

You would need to qualify for IVF on the NHS (which does not require you to be married).

If you are not married or in a civil partnership, you can't be living in Forces accommodation, so you would go via a GP referral.

If/when you do marry/CP and move around with the serving spouse, then there are some additional medical provisions under the military covenant - the one likely to be relevant to this is co-ordinating waiting times, so you are not forever put to the back of the queue every time you move (thus never rising to the top of it).

The Army Families Federation are the people to contact, if you need help in turning into action what the government says as policy:

"It is MOD policy that, where possible, assistance should be given to enable Service personnel and their spouses, civil partners or partners to have access to assisted conception services provided by the NHS in the UK"

www.aff.org.uk/army_family_life/health_additional_n/assisted_conception.htm

The military medical services themselves won't have anything to do with assisted conception, but you can be referred by your GP and follow the pathway within the NHS.

The Army should facilitate stability to allow for courses of treatment but this could impact on promotion/relocation for training, so bear that in mind.

Hi, just thought I'd jump on!

My husband is in the Army too, we are jist about to start IVF funded through the NHS. We did look into through the Military and basically you get however many attempts through the NHS (depending on your location, depends on how many.) Then you can apply through the NHS Military Commissioning (something like that, I have it on a letter, I'll dig it out), not everyone gets accepted for that though.

Thank you every one for getting back me the info has helped a lot. Kind of understand a little more now and thank you for sending the link Mpsw I was looking every where for more info but could only find a statement dated back to 2014 so was unsure if was still a thing or they had stopped it. Thanks sidge also, fingers crossed they'll be lenient and understanding regarding relocation etc etc.and good luck Katherine hope all goes well with ivf x x

@ZilphasHatpin no, sadly not, not everyone gets 1 cycle. Increasing numbers of CCGs are removing all funding for IVF so couples get 0 cycles

Many CCGs won't fund cycles if either partner has a living child, so if you marry someone who has a child from a previous relationship then no funding for you if you live in these areas. Postcode lottery.

@ZilphasHatpin no, sadly not, not everyone gets 1 cycle. Increasing numbers of CCGs are removing all funding for IVF so couples get 0 cycles

sorry to hear that.

My OH is in the marines and we would have been entitled to 1 free NHS and 3 through the military as well so 4 in total.

We didn't get this as my OH already has a child through a previous relationship but I did look into it.

Hope this helps x

We were entitled to no cycles where we lived. We paid private for 4 cycles.

No free cycles at all in Oxford/Bucks for us.

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Paid privately for 19 years

Should explain Not angry with those that get the free attempt. Pissed off with 'the system' that is anything BUT a system.

If you can get a free one, wishing you all the best x

I think it's absolutely crazy the 'system' and postcode lottery

Hi, I am an RAF wife and can confirm that it depends on whether or not you are entitled to it through the NHS. We have moved around several times in the last few years and had to start over each time with the tests etc which has been very frustrating. Pleased to report though that our ICSI treatment has finally worked and I am now 6 weeks pregnant. Worth looking at the Armed Forces Covenant as I believe it is mentioned in there and making sure your husbands boss is aware and makes sure he can attend all appointments. So sorry to hear that some places don't offer any funded cycles, I knew it was a postcode lottery as to how many but didn't realise there were areas that got 0. I feel for you ladies xxx

Hi creativekate. Congratulations to you that's amazing news. I also have been told that the best option for us is icsi and fingers crossed will start the process in September. He had a meeting with his dr on base so he could get things rolling just in case the first attempt doesn't work, but she didn't have a clue, but I think it will go to nhs England ?? ( not sure if that's correct)

Do you mind me asking what the process for icsi/ ivf is, I've heard there are a lot of needles and the process takes up to 6 months x

Thanks Sophie! Still doesn't quite feel real yet! We had to have ICSI as my husband has azoospermia (no sperm in the ejaculate). After seeing the Doctor on base we were referred to a fertility unit at an NHS hospital. We had to do blood tests etc and I also had a transvaginal scan to check that all was ok on my side. Fast foward several months, I started to take the pill to regulate my hormones and then put the doctors in charge of my cycle. Then, I started stimulating (injecting) on 3rd January this year for a couple of weeks, with scans every other day to check my follicles. Then, we underwent egg Collection and sperm retrieval on the same day (they don't always do this in case they don't find sperm or can't get enough but all the hormones and other blood results indicated that my husband did produce sperm, it just wasn't coming out - sorry for TMI!). Then they did their ICSI magic and we got 9 embryos! They were supposed to be transferred back into me a couple of days but unfortunately I suffered severe OHSS and was rushed into hospital the day after egg Collection where I spent a good couple of weeks quite seriously ill. Not sure if you know about OHSS but basically my ovaries ended up being over stimuated and caused me to be very ill. I don't want anyone to worry about that though as apparently it is quite rare and I was just very unlucky. They had to freeze our embryos and they they did a frozen embryo transfer at the beginning of April, and now I am pregnant, due my early reassurance scan next week. Once you have done all the initial referral and tests and waiting, the process doesn't take too long. It's tough emotionally but will all be worth it in the end. Let me know if you have other questions!xx

Sorry didn't answer re the needles / I was inhecting a couple of times a day for a couple of weeks and didn't find it that bad to be honest (I am fine with needles usually). You just get into the habit of it and it is only for a couple of weeks!

Wowsers glad everything is all good for you now sounds quite scary what you went through. And hope little bubba is all ok in the scans.Thanks for the info just nice to the know the basics beforehand, really appreciated.

We were recommended icsi as my oh has super low sperm count first count in June was 6 mil, July was 24 and April only 9 . And I think the normal is 40? I have been on clomifene for a fair few months now, but have read recently that it shouldn't be any longer than 4ish cycles, but they've just told me to carry on.

Sorry another question, also when you say you went for scans every other day, how did this work with work commitments, how long before you started the treatment did you tell your employer, not sure whether to tell them way in advance as not starting til sept or leave til closer to the time.

Many thanks Sophie

Hi Sophie,
The work one is a tough one, I told HR when I started going to the hospital regularly, and they were extremely understanding about it. A few months later though, I got a new boss (middle aged man) who I am not comfortable talking with about it. I tend to go via the ladies in HR and book the time in my calendar as a hospital appointment. As for the scans every other day, I set the expectation a month or so before that I wouldn't be in the office for a few weeks and worked from home for most of that time. Other colleagues did wonder what was going on but I just told them I was unwell. I was a total career girl before all this but at the moment my job is having to take a bit of a back seat. This is ultimately more more important to me to have our family than this job, so I do my best work wise when I can, but if I need to be off then I need to be off. I'm not clear on any legal aspect of it but I imagine so long as you are honest with HR and keep them informed then you will be well protected as an employee. It is really tough to try and make it all work but it will be worth it in the end. I am currently suffering from terrible nauseau and wondering how that is going to affect work but I'll just have to do my best to get enough rest and stay on top of work. Sorry, I don't know about clomifene or normal sperm counts because of my husbands Azoospermia, his count was always 0. It is completely amazing what they can do though and I am so grateful that they have made this happen for us. I would recommend having loads of healthy smoothies and cutting out caffeine and things to prepare your body for the treatment and get as healthy as you can prior to starting.

Thanks for all the info creativekate, I can't tell you how much this has helped. Hope things go a bit smoother for you soon just keep thinking this is all totally worth it and keep smiling and the time will fly by and you'll have a little bundle of joy at the end x x

Zilphas it's a big misconception that everyone is entitled to a cycle on the NHS. My DH and I were refused point black because HE has a child from a previous marriage doesn't really help our situation!

Good luck Sophie!