One in 32 babies now born after IVF

The proportion of women giving birth after fertility treatment in the UK has increased by more than a third in a decade, with the equivalent of one child in every classroom now born as a result of IVF, new figures have revealed.

- Andrew Gregory Health editor

One in 32 births in 2023 were the result of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), up 34% from one in 43 in 2013, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

Between them, 52,400 patients had more than 77,500 IVF cycles at licensed fertility clinics in the UK. About 20,700 babies were born via IVF in 2023, up from 8,700 in 2000, the HFEA said.

The number of women freezing their eggs also increased sharply, with cycles up from 4,700 in 2022 to 6,900 in 2023. Egg freezing increased most among women in their 30s, but the number using their stored frozen eggs "remains low", according to the report.

IVF births now make up a higher proportion of all UK births than before, increasing from 1.3% in 2000 to 3.1% in 2023.