Look At This Picture...And Tell Me The NHS Was Wrong To Pay For My IVF

 

- Kitty Dimbleby

Last night I crept upstairs to check on my sleeping children. Chloe, who’s nearly five, wasn’t in her bed. Rows of stuffed toys filled the space where her head should have been. She’d climbed into 21-month-old Max’s cot.

The two of them took up the whole mattress – limbs spread-eagled, blonde hair fanned out as they breathed in unison. I paused, overwhelmed with gratitude that I’m their mother.

Most parents would feel the same, but perhaps the feeling is stronger for mums like me – because my children were born after years of illness that eventually necessitated IVF treatment. To me, IVF is one of the greatest medical advancements of our age. So it was with sorrow that I read recently how increasing numbers of women are being denied fertility treatment to save money.

Agony of longing

In Bath, where I live, you only get one go on the NHS, costing around £5,000. And every day I’m thankful that money was available to me. Those who see IVF as a luxury have never experienced the pain of not being able to have a child. The desire for children is a biological need; if denied, it can cause untold anguish.