Huddersfield woman says she feels ‘robbed’ due to NHS IVF access in her county
04:00, 28 Jan 2026Updated 08:33, 28 Jan 2026
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A Huddersfield woman says a postcode-based IVF policy has left her feeling “robbed” of the chance to start a family.
Stephanie Parkinson, 32, from Huddersfield, has “hit out” at local NHS policies in Kirklees that restrict IVF funding to a single cycle, describing the limitations as “devastating,” “unfair,” and a “postcode lottery”.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines advised up to three IVF cycles for women under 40, if they meet certain criteria. However, at present this varies depending where you are in the country. Access to NHS-funded IVF in England varies by postcode as each Integrated Care Board sets its own eligibility criteria and number of cycles.
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In Kirklees, along with several other counties, women are offered just one non-full cycle, external up to the age of 35. This is the bracket in which Stephanie and her husband Craig fall under due to where they live.
Critical care nurse, Stephanie, started NHS-funded IVF in December last year after losing four stone to be considered eligible for the treatment after she and her husband Craig had been unsuccessfully trying for a baby for four years.
The couple’s one and only round of NHS-funded IVF was sadly unsuccessful, which left them weighing up whether it would be cheaper to pay for the procedure privately or relocate. She described the ‘one-round’ IVF policy as “unfair” and explained that herself and her partner have been given “very little indication” as to why the treatment was unsuccessful.
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Stephanie explained that she has been told and further investigative testing is not available to them through the NHS and any further treatment would need to be privately funded – at a potential cost that could “financially devastate their family.”
Stephanie told Yorkshire Live: “It’s just absolutely devastating, we were told I needed to lose four stone to be eligible for treatment and I’ve dedicated everything to doing that. We’ve changed our entire lifestyle, we’ve both stopped drinking alcohol, caffeine, we eat healthily, we exercise, we were so dedicated to the cause because all we have ever wanted was to become parents.
“We have been together five years, we got married last year and naturally the next step should be a baby but unfortunately it isn’t that easy for some. We were so hopeful that the IVF would work after all of our outfits but sadly we only got one successful embryo, instead of the expected three, so our chances were slim already.
“We got the news just last week that the implantation had been unsuccessful and that’s it our round is finished. If we had got more successful embryos we would have had another two attempts within the one NHS funded cycle but because we didn’t due to the egg quality, our cycle is finished.
“Over before it even began. It’s an understatement to say we are devastated. There’s not a lot of psychological support, it’s grief really, we are grieving the life we planned that has been ripped away from us.”
Stephanie continued: “We have been given very little indication as to why the treatment was unsuccessful, and further investigative testing is not available to us through the NHS. We have been informed that any additional testing or future IVF treatment would need to be privately funded at a potential cost that could financially devastate our family.
“Yet if we lived 45 minutes down the road in Wigan we would be entitled to three rounds funded on the NHS. It’s literally post-code lottery, nobody should be denied access to fertility treatment due to where they live or how much money they have in the bank.
“We have been left in a position where we are reconsidering everything, the costs we are facing now are in the thousands, we have been quoted £14,500 for a multi cycle round of IVF but if it turns out to be an egg quality issue we might not even be eligible for that and if that is the case then we are looking at anything up to £20,000, we don’t have that kind of money lying around.”
“We are now in a position where we are looking at relocating just to access the treatment, how ridiculous is that?! We have looked at moving to Scotland. But it’s not that simple, my husband is self-employed, he runs a hair salon in Denby Dale, it’s taken him years to build up the clientele that he has now, why should we be forced to walk away from that and start again? And away from all of our family and friends, our entire support system. It’s not right and it’s not fair.
“We’ve looked into every option including selling the home we have both worked so hard to buy, my husband has considered drawing his pension to fund it, they are lengths we shouldn’t have to go to, especially when others don’t have to. My husband is 40 and I am 32, we have both worked long hours all our adult life to afford our home and now we feel backed into a corner of deciding what’s more important our home and our financial future or a family.”
Asked how much it means to her to become a mum, Stephanie added: “It means everything. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, the heart-breaking reality is I’m everybody’s auntie, I’m always the auntie and never the mum. We want more than anything to have a baby and be a family – why should where we live deny us the right to that?”It shouldn’t matter where you live, everybody should be entitled to the same amount of funding. Infertility is a disease, you wouldn’t deny somebody cancer treatment because they live in a different postcode.
“I am a critical care nurse, someone who has dedicated their adult life to the NHS, caring for patients and families during their most vulnerable moments. Long shifts, holding hands in intensive care units, and giving everything I have to a system I wholeheartedly believe in is more than just my job; it’s my commitment to the greater good. But now, in my moment of need, that very system has let me down.”
Stephanie has gone on to start a petition with hopes to eradicate the post code lottery for IVF in the UK. She added: “It’s not just us it’s a nationwide issue, it’s hard to comprehend how such essential healthcare access could be determined by geography.
“The injustice stings deeper knowing that the guidelines for fertility treatment under the NHS are inconsistent across different regions in the UK. While some areas offer up to three funded cycles, others, like mine, provide just one. Our health system should support everyone equally, irrespective of where they live.”
A spokesperson for NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) in Kirklees said: “We are sorry for any upset caused by infertility issues for couples in Kirklees and the distress that this can bring.
“To reduce differences in policy across the Yorkshire and Humber region, all three ICBs have come together to form a joint policy on IVF treatment to ensure it is fair and equitable to everyone.
“From April 2024, ICBs collectively agreed that all couples who qualify for IVF treatment will receive one round funded through the NHS.
“Where a couple feel that they have exceptional circumstances and would like the ICB to consider an additional cycle being funded by the NHS, they should speak to their doctor about submitting an individual funding request.”
Stephanie has urged others to sign the petition, she pleads: ” Please sign this petition to end the postcode lottery for IVF treatment, and give countless couples a fighting chance at starting the families they dream of.” You can sign Stephanie and Craig’s petition, here.
Stephanie and Craig’s close friend has kindly set up a Go Fund Me for the married couple in hopes of helping them realise their dream of becoming parents, you can donate here.