Women are opting for expensive and invasive fertility treatment when it may be their husbands or partners who are to blame, an expert has warned.
It comes as recent reports have revealed sperm counts in men worldwide have declined by half over the past 50 years.
As many as one in seven couples has difficulty conceiving, according to the NHS.
Poor semen quality is now either the sole cause or a contributing factor in 50 per cent of cases, according to research in the journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology.
Yet too often, it is the woman who assumes she is the one with an infertility issue and rushes into treatment – one cycle of private IVF can cost up to £5,000 or more.
Dr Catherine Hood, a Harley Street consultant in psychosexual medicine, said: ‘Women are often quick to blame themselves if they don’t get pregnant, and overlook the fact that it is increasingly likely that the problem lies with their partner.’
Too many couples consider in-vitro fertilisation before exploring cheaper therapies addressing poor sperm quality, according to Dr Catherine Hood (stock photo)
Furthermore, experts warn that fertility services for men has long lagged behind those for women in the UK.
Fewer than 5 per cent of UK fertility clinics hold accreditation confirming they comply with World Health Organisation guidelines on semen analysis, according to Dr Hood.
‘In my opinion, too many couples are considering in-vitro fertilisation before exploring simpler, and far less expensive therapies, which address poor sperm counts or motility,’ she added.
Call for better treatments for men
In research to be presented at the London Fertility Show, Dr Hood will call for an urgent review of treatment guidelines to address this rise in male infertility and alert couples to the efficacy of low-cost alternatives to female-focused IVF.
She believes some couples could save thousands of pounds by exploring less invasive infertility treatments such as intracervical insemination (ICI) – the use of a cervical cap to hold sperm close to the cervix — and intrauterine insemination (IUI), before resorting to IVF.
Dr Hood said: ‘In clinical trials, ICI has a success rate of around 20 per cent and can be performed in a home setting, which is far less stressful than attending a hospital or fertility clinic.
‘This is important because we know that women who are stressed are less likely to conceive.’
Cheaper DIY options
However, research for The Stork, a clinically proven home-use ICI device, found that only 9 per cent of couples who were having trouble conceiving were aware of these DIY conception aids.
By contrast, 57 per cent of women struggling to start a family said they would consider IVF, even though 61 per cent admitted they were worried about the cost.
Current guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) overlooks ICI, and advises against IUI, in favour of expensive IVF, which has a success rate of only two to 33 per cent, depending on the woman’s age.
It also says the NHS should offer up to three cycles of IVF to women under 40 who have not conceived after two years of trying for a baby – advice which is flouted by 87 per cent of the Clinical Commissioning Groups which provide health services as they strive to find ways to cut their overall budgets.
Dr Hood said: ‘NHS rationing means that 60 per cent of IVF treatment is privately funded, and with 50,000 women seeking treatment every year, fertility treatment has become a very big business.
‘There is not enough awareness of cheaper and successful alternative treatments. It makes sense to try these first.’
A single cycle of IVF costs around £5,000 and some clinics recommend additional tests and therapies which can push the cost much higher.
By comparison, IUI costs around £1,000 and The Stork home-use ICI device costs £99.99.
IVF pioneer Lord Robert Winston has voiced similar concerns about the commercialization of fertility treatment.
In the past he has warned: ‘IVF is not a very successful treatment in spite of what all the clinics tell people. A large proportion of cycles don’t work and it’s very expensive.’
He also said: ‘There is excellent evidence that more than half of those referred to IVF could be treated as, or more, successfully by far cheaper alternatives.’
This is confirmed by researchers who estimated that 36 per cent of couples with unexplained infertility receive unnecessary treatment.
Dr Hood said: ‘For many couples, it makes sense to try a low-cost option, such as The Stork, first.
‘It is a relatively inexpensive conception aid which works in the same way as ICI, a clinically proven treatment with a success rate of 20 per cent.’