The Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, who oversee all clinics licensed to give various forms of fertility treatment, have announced the latest success rates for IVF. They include data collected between January 2005 and December 2005 and show a continued increase in the number of fertility treatments and a steady increase in live birth rates as well as multiple births.

IVF stats and facts
The figures are based on the 41,932 treatments given to 32,626 women through the whole of 2005, in UK clinics. This saw a six per cent increase in the number of patients and a four per cent increase in the number of IVF treatments administered compared to the previous year.
Just under a quarter of the births were multiple births: 9058 births produced 11262 children following IVF treatment.
The overall success rate of IVF rose from the 2004 figure by 0.9 per cent, to 21.6 per cent. In women under 35, the success rate was 29.6 per cent, a 1.8 per cent increase on 2004.

Other stats
The development of newer treatments like Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (where the partner's sperm can be used in more cases, rather than donor sperm), meant that the number of children born after donor sperm was used did fall by 11 per cent to 606 births (and 645 children born). However, the number of sperm donors who registered did increase by 19 per cent.

What is IVF?
In vitro fertilisation is probably the best known method of assisting conception and many people mistakenly tend to round up all treatments under this one name. In this instance, eggs are taken from the ovaries of the woman (or an egg donor) by surgery and then allowed to fertilise in a laboratory with sperm (from the woman's partner or a donor), and then placed directly into the uterus by surgery. The initial egg collection is a short process that should not be painful and takes less than half an hour.

IVF is the most well-known form of treatment for couples who are experiencing diffculty when trying for a baby. But it is by no means the only form of assisted conception and your GP can give you more information about other options which could be less invasive, and might be enough to help you get pregnant.