In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a fertility treatment which led to the birth of more than 20,000 babies in 2023, or roughly one child in every school classroom, according to data from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
Meanwhile, birth rates in the UK are at at the lowest level in nearly half a century.
Official guidance, external from the National Institute of Healthcare and Excellence (NICE) recommends three full cycles, external of IVF funded by the NHS.
But research, external from The Progress Educational Trust has found women in south-west England are only given the chance at one partial round, which limits the number of embryos that can be transferred to two with no embryos frozen.
Alice Draper, from Bridport, said she had four miscarriages before she and her partner were referred to the NHS for IVF.
They tried to have a baby for more than two years, then Alice was offered one round of IVF by NHS Dorset. Five of her eggs were retrieved with one fertilised.
Alice became pregnant but her baby did not survive: “Sadly there was no heartbeat at our initial nine-week scan,” she said.
“Unfortunately the NHS had only offered us one round, and due to the fact that only one of our embryos had fertilised, we had no more chances available to us,” she explained.