Women are waiting too long to start IVF treatment, UK regulator warns, as average age tops 35 for the first time despite falling chances of success Average woman conceiving naturally has their first child six years earlier at 29 READ MORE: New pill could boost couples' chance of natural pregnancy By Kate Pickles Health Editor For The Daily Mail Published: 19:00 EDT, 17 July 2024 | Updated: 19:00 EDT, 17 July 2024 e-mail View comments Women are starting IVF too late, with the average age reaching 35 for the first time, the UK’s fertility regulator has warned. Increasing numbers are turning to egg-freezing to delay motherhood, despite success rates declining with age. A report by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority found women starting fertility treatment are now typically six years older than those having their first babies naturally.
The trend — which lowers the chances of IVF working — has been blamed on long NHS waiting lists, Covid delays and the prohibitive costs of private treatment. It comes as rocketing numbers of women are also using IVF to become single parents with 3,548 attempts in 2022 compared to 1,953 in 2019 – an 83 per cent leap. The average woman had their first child aged 29 in 2022, six years younger than those trying IVF for the first time Using previously frozen eggs and embryos to try for a baby years later is the fastest growing fertility treatment in the UK Those in same sex couples also increased by more than a third from 1,628 to.
