By Fiona Macrae
Many women are relying on their parents to fund dreams of motherhood, research shows.
One in eight British couples undergoing fertility have their bill subsidised to the tune of thousands of pounds by would-be-grandparents.
The figure is higher for older women, who are more likely to have to go private, with a quarter of over-40s having their IVF attempts funded by their parents.
Londoners are the most likely to borrow, with almost one in three having their clinic bills subsidised by their mothers and fathers.
On average, would-be grandparents are paying 5 413 pounds (R72 700) towards the conception of their future grandchildren.
The survey, by Red magazine, found the average cost of fertility treatment to be 6 368 pounds.
But certain clinics charge up to 15 000 pounds a course and some women will need multiple treatments.
Sam Baker, the magazine's editor in chief, said: "That's a lot of money being spent on infertility treatments, which begs the question, who's paying?
"News that grandparents are subsidising the cost of creating their future grandchildren doesn't surprise me.
"With both parents working, many grandparents are already relied upon for childcare and it seems financial involvement is the next step."
Dr Geeta Nargund, of the Create fertility clinic in central London, said it was not unusual for potential grandparents to want to help foot the bill.
She said: "My heart goes out to them.
"Fertility is not just about having children, it is about having grandchildren.
"Couples often say their parents are desperately keen to become grandparents and want to help us."
Nargund, who is also head of reproductive medicine at St George's Hospital in Tooting, South London, wants IVF treatment to be subject to a maximum cost, as happens in other areas of private medicine.
She said: "We desperately need a national tariff so people are not exploited.
"So they are not put through unnecessary tests, given unnecessary drugs and charged unnecessary money.
"It is very important that people don't think the higher the charge, the better the results."
The survey of 2 628 women also found that one in three had had setbacks in their quest for a family.
It revealed seven in 10 childless women over the age of 30 worry about their fertility - but many have it in the back of their minds that they can always turn to IVF.
And four in 10 of the 25- to 35-year-olds polled said they would consider freezing their eggs, despite the process offering no guarantee of future motherhood.
Robert Winston, the IVF pioneer and fertility doctor, recently accused clinics that offer egg freezing of giving women false hope.
Lord Winston, who has long warned of the dangers of expensive but unproven fertility treatments, called for a curb on clinics offering freezing for non-medical reasons until more research was carried out. - Daily Mail