A couple jetted off to the Czech Republic to have a successful IVF abroad, after being told by the NHS that they only had a 5% chance of getting pregnant.
Emma Haslam, from North Yorkshire, UK, tried to have IVF via the NHS in the UK but said the NHS told her that they were not eligible for IVF.
Due to Emma’s BMI (Body Mass Index) being too high in their postcode area they were unable to qualify for the funded treatment.
The company director said: “The NHS told us that there would be a 3-5% chance of IVF even working and that I didn’t qualify for the UK’s IVF treatment, so we started to look abroad at the different options, and I managed to end up pregnant in the Czech Republic.”
After struggling to conceive naturally, Emma initially went to her GP to have some tests and was later referred to a gynaecologist to be analysed.
The results from the UK tests found that Emma was Peri-Menopausal and that she had low AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) which was unusual for her age, but common in her family history.
In the UK, it’s estimated that around 13 million women are currently perimenopausal or menopausal, which is about one-third of the country’s female population.
However, only 14.5% of women under the age 35 suffer with low AMH levels.
Emma’s husband was also told that he had low motility and low concentration and that between them, they could only conceive through IVF.
After not having much knowledge on IVF, Emma thought that the process must always work, so was upset to find out there was only a 3-5% success rate.
After going home hearing the heavy news that Emma and her husband would never have children naturally, Emma worked hard to lose the weight to qualify for one round of IVF on the NHS.
Managing to lose the six stone, Emma was later told by her doctors that the limit of her NHS area’s BMI expectancy had changed to 30, not 35.
She said: “We felt so upset and angry, like our time had been wasted and it was all for nothing as my BMI had nothing to do with my infertility and I was fit and healthy.
“When you have low AMH and are perimenopausal you don’t have time to waste.
“If we had lived a few miles down the road in another postcode area we would have qualified with the weight I lost.”
Emma and her partner really wanted to make IVF work, so they decided to move back in with her parents and save up to go through IVF privately.
With plenty of research, Emma and her husband had some consultations online with some fertility clinics in the UK and realised how expensive it was.
Emma described her experience with the UK clinics as “average at best” and she found it difficult to get straight answers from them on what the total costs were likely to be.
She added: “It felt like a battle just to understand the answers to basic questions around things like costs and it felt like a very one-size-fits-all process.”
The couple found that an average round of IVF in the UK when completed is around £10,000 GB ($19,000 AUD, $12,000 USD) and can often be upwards of this.
She said: “We just knew that we could save enough for one round of treatment while living with my parents.
“We did think about adoption, and we even started the process, but it was long and wasn’t easy and I really wanted to have the opportunity to carry and have a baby.”
Before going through IVF, the happy couple loved travelling and would explore the world visiting different places and areas.
The couple decided to do some research into going privately for IVF abroad and were shocked to see the price differences, standards of service and transparency around costs.
Emma said: “Admittedly, I had no idea what we were doing back then, but we did plenty of research online, looking at different clinics abroad.
“We noticed the BMI limit abroad was more flexible at some clinics for IVF and we found a wonderful clinic that was empathetic, honest and transparent and the couple decided to go to the Czech Republic.
“The Czech Republic is a very popular place to go for IVF, it was in our budget range, cheaper, and there was no waiting list.
“Of course, IVF is a lot of money, but the price difference was insane.”
The couple found that the average round of own egg IVF abroad, depending on where you go, ranged from £2,500- £4,000 ($7,500 AUD, $5,000 USD), excluding travel and medication.
She added: “Including all the flights and accommodation, you can end up saving up to half per fresh round vs the UK.
“We didn’t have much choice, due to finances, but we hoped it was going to be a much better experience.
“And it was! After a few consultations, we chose our clinic, and they were so kind and caring.”
Despite finding their dream clinic, the couple’s chances of conceiving with their own eggs and sperm were still low.
She said: “It was very hard to hear, but they were honest about it and didn’t just take our money for something that wasn’t going to work.
“They did suggest though, that if we have donor conception, which we did, it will boost our chances from 5% to 60%-70%.
“And as we had then learned IVF is a number game, we wanted to give ourselves the best chance of becoming parents.”
She explained: “We ended up spending around £8,000 GB ($15,500 AUD, £50,000 USD) but this was for three rounds of a donor embryo treatment, including everything, flights and accommodation too.
“Our treatment also came with a guarantee, so the third round was free.”
After deciding to go abroad and three rounds later, Emma became pregnant with twins but sadly, after 10 weeks she lost one of the twins but later gave birth to a healthy baby boy in 2018.
Emma said: “Simply put, if we had spent all our money on one round of IVF in the UK, we would not have our little boy today.
“Thank goodness we went abroad where we could stretch our budget further to have the treatment we needed to have our little boy.”
Since having her miracle baby, Emma has set up her own business helping people find a fertility clinic that meets their needs and aids practical and emotional support for fertility treatment.
Since then Emma has helped hundreds of people across the globe to start and grow their families including launching her podcast show.