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Women 'would spend £50,000' on IVF
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Women would spend an average of £15,000 on IVF to get pregnant, with one in 10 willing to spend more than £50,000, research showed.
Those wishing to conceive would sacrifice most things to have a baby, with more than 90% willing to cut down on saving for the future and everyday activities in order to fund fertility treatment.
Some 93% would cut back on holidays, 94% would cut back on eating out and 95% would hold off buying a new car. A total of 95% would lower their pension contributions, 91% would cut down on savings, 93% would stop buying new clothes and most would be willing to sell their possessions or take on extra work.
The survey of more than 2,000 women aged 30 to 45 was carried out for Red magazine.
It revealed almost half (49%) of women think those who donate their eggs should be paid a minimum of £1,270, but women would be willing to pay up to £3,000. Of all those surveyed, 38% had struggled to conceive and 10% had undergone some sort of fertility treatment, with the average spend being £8,678.
Extrapolated across the UK, more than £4.7 billion may have therefore been spent on fertility, although it is unclear over how many years women sought treatment.
Almost a quarter (24%) of those who had IVF in the survey had borrowed money from their family or had been given cash for the treatment. Despite the high costs, many attempts at IVF are unsuccessful, with 47% of those who had tried it in the survey failing to get pregnant.
Almost one in five (18%) said they had undergone more than five attempts at IVF. Some 65% of those who had IVF said it was more stressful than being made redundant and 42% said the process was more distressing than the ending of a relationship.
More than three-quarters (76%) found it more stressful than moving house. Of those who favoured egg donation, 26% said they would put any funds raised towards the cost of their own child's education.
Sam Baker, editor-in-chief of Red, said: "This report provides an in-depth view into the quest for fertility among British women. Even though we are in the midst of economic uncertainty, the fertility industry has proved itself to be completely recession-proof. Our report shows that women are prepared to make huge financial sacrifices as they do whatever it takes to conceive, cutting back on holidays or pensions in order to boost their chances of having family."
