Infertility is defined (NICE 2013) as when “A woman of reproductive age who has not conceived after 1 year of unprotected vaginal sexual intercourse [in the absence of any known cause of infertility, should be offered further clinical assessment and investigation along with her partner]”
only after 2 years of unexplained fertility may a couple or woman be eligible for IVF. there are different types of requirements for being able to have IVF dependant on where you live. different parts of England and Wales will have different requirements depending on where you are from.
some requirements include
In scotland the requirements are clear set for the whole country
the NHS guidelines suggest that 3 cycles should be undertaken but this is not allowed for some areas, circumstances or age groups.
IVF will be offered to same sex female couples after 6-8 cycles of donor insemination has been unsuccessful (this is the same time-frame as heterosexual couples)
mother is at greater risk of an ectopic pregnancy, or a pregnancy that coudld become more than 1 child if more than one embryo is implanted at one time, in the NHS it is customary for only one embryo to be implanted at one time to ensure that this does not happen.