‘I felt like a ticking time bomb’: Teh women facing an IVF deadline
By Holly Nichols, High Wycombe
Kelly-Marie Madden-Giles started her one and only round of IVF on the NHS in 2024. She’d been trying for a baby with her husband for five years, and after tests revealed a low sperm count, IVF was their best hope.
But Kelly-Marie’s journey to motherhood is shadowed by a new postcode lottery in England. Increasingly, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) – now Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) – are limiting the number of IVF cycles available on the NHS, or restricting access based on increasingly strict criteria.
For Kelly-Marie,34,the timing felt critical. “I knew my local ICB was reviewing its policy, and there were rumours they were going to reduce the number of cycles offered,” she says. “I felt like a ticking time bomb, desperately trying to get started before the goalposts moved.”
And they did. Just weeks after her first appointment, the ICB announced it was reducing the number of cycles from three to one. Kelly-Marie felt incredibly lucky to have been approved before the change, but the pressure was immense.
“It was terrifying knowing this was our only chance,” she says.”The emotional toll was huge. Every two-week wait was agony.”
Unfortunately, the first cycle wasn’t accomplished. Kelly-Marie is now facing the prospect of paying for private treatment, which can cost thousands of pounds per cycle – a sum many couples simply can’t afford.
“It feels incredibly unfair,” she says. “We’ve been through so much already, and now we’re being punished for something that’s not our fault.”
The number of IVF cycles offered by the NHS has been a long-standing issue. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) guidelines recommend three cycles of IVF for couples where the woman is under 40, but these are just guidelines, and many ICBs offer fewer.
A BBC inquiry has revealed a wide disparity in access to IVF across England. Some ICBs offer three cycles to all eligible couples, while others offer none at all. Some have age restrictions, body mass index (BMI) requirements, or demand couples prove they’ve been trying for a certain length of time.
These postcode lottery restrictions are causing heartbreak for thousands of couples. Sarah,38,from Hampshire,has been trying for a baby for seven years. Her local ICB offers only one cycle of IVF, and she was recently rejected as her BMI was slightly above the threshold.
“I was devastated,” she says. “I’m actively trying to lose weight, but it’s a vicious cycle. The stress of trying to conceive is making it harder to lose weight, and now I’m being denied treatment as of it.”
Experts say the restrictions are driven by financial constraints. IVF is an expensive treatment, and ICBs are under pressure to save money.But campaigners argue that denying couples access to IVF is short-sighted.
“IVF is frequently enough the only hope for couples struggling with infertility,” says Kate Brian,of the Fertility Fairness Foundation. “Denying them access to treatment can have a devastating impact on their mental health and well-being. It can also lead to increased costs in the long run, as couples may require more complex and expensive treatments if they leave it too late.”
The government has said it is indeed committed to improving access to IVF, but there are no plans to enforce Nice guidelines nationally.This means the postcode lottery is highly likely to continue, leaving thousands of couples facing an uncertain future.
For Kelly-Marie, the dream of becoming a mother feels further away than ever. “I just want a fair chance,” she says. “Is that too much to ask?”
Holly Nichols/BBCAccess to NHS-funded IVF in England varies by postcode as each ICB sets its own eligibility criteria and number of cycles.
Mrs Madden-Giles,35,started NHS-funded IVF in March 2024 when she was 33 years old.
She described the IVF age limit as “unfair” and explained how women are having children “much later in life these days.”
The couple’s one and only round of NHS-funded IVF was unsuccessful, which left them weighing up whether it would be cheaper to pay for the procedure privately or relocate.
She said: “It played on my mind massively – should I move to another area just to get more chances on the NHS?
“You have to weigh up the factors, I do feel like it played a massive part from a mental health viewpoint – you’re constantly thinking, did I make the right move?”
Mrs Madden-Giles, from High Wycombe, gave birth to her daughter Tulley in July 2025, after
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