# Woman denied fertility treatment because husband has children



## Miranda7 (Feb 12, 2007)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5300410/Woman-denied-fertility-treatment-because-husband-has-children.html

We had our MP complain to our NHS trust about this very issue, but despite an initial strongly-worded letter he rolled over when they told him rules is rules.

Rubbish, innit?


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## professor waffle (Apr 23, 2005)

This makes me so mad! This is the situation in a lot of PCT's so there should be a NATIONAL outcry about it rather than a PCT at a time. Just shows how ill informed the 'public' & newspapers are in general about IVF


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## Miranda7 (Feb 12, 2007)

It did make me laugh when they said three cycles of IVF cost £8,000... I mean, how do they come up with these figures? It cost us more than that each cycle because of the PESA, but even if it was just me it would be about £7,000 for one cycle.

I thought the NICE guidelines were going to iron out all these different sets of criteria - it's more inequitable now than ever.


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## Caz.s (Jun 27, 2008)

This postcode lottery is so unfair it too makes me so bloomin angry

Miranda I agree it cost me alone fore one IVF about £6500 ARGHHH Why should we have to pay its so unfair


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## Jane D (Apr 16, 2007)

The lack of consistency is so wrong. It is all about cost savings for the PCTs through narrowing eligibility.  The rule about previous relationship children is so wrong when it was the woman who had no children and her PCOS required treatment. Do they think everyone plays happy families with their exes and new partners have or want 24/7 access to step children?  Anyway this woman has every right to carry a child of her own.


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## Tricksy (Jan 23, 2006)

Totally agree, if the husband is the one with children from a previous relationship then why should the new wife be punished because he had children before. So because she loves a guy who already has children then she has to give up her right to try for a child.......this must be in infringment of her human right surely  

A total load of baloney and totally unfair


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## freespirit. (Nov 24, 2004)

We were denied free treatment as my DH has a son from his first marriage .
It didn't seem to matter that he was 20+ and not even a child when we applied , it sucks big style . 
Everyone is entitled to free teatment - yeah right , only if you can tick all their very carefully selected boxes , its all just a publicity con  
Think i ought to sign off there .........


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## Truffle80 (Nov 17, 2008)

Out rageous!

We were denied any funded tx due to me being under 30 despite a fluctuating FSH level and recommendation from my consultant not to wait.  Every couple should be entitled to some level of funding and it should be fair across the board no matter where you live.

Poor woman!


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## jasmine372 (Dec 5, 2008)

This is such utter b******.

We are having to fund our treatment as BF has kids fr prev relationship. what makes it worse is that i am perfectly healthy and its cos he has male factor. although we have never had a huge fight about it, it took me months to get my head around the whole issue of feeling like i was being punished through no fault of my own.  it made me feel like women should be asking their partners to have an SA before embarking on a serious relationship.

of course we cant and dont choose who we want to be with in this manner and i wouldnt change anything even now BUT why should women be treated in this way esp if she doesnt have children of her own yet  it is definite infringement of human rights. 

i could go on and on and on but i better not...


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## Sue MJ (May 4, 2002)

It goes so much further than this, the whole system is unfair for various different reasons.

At the time of us going through treatment, Bristol funded treatment for couples who needed IVF, but if you needed ICSI, then you couldn't qualify!

We  have funded 7 full cycles of ICSI in the past - only one successful cycle... one fantastic 5 year old lad to show for it.

Now the rules have changed, Bristol do now fund ICSI, but if you have just one child or more, you wont qualify.  (originally I think when they just funded IVF, you could have 2 children from existing or previous relationships).  So stupid thousands of pounds later to have my only child (worth every penny though I hasten to add), the rules change and when you think they've changed to include the tx we require, they also change to exclude us in other ways!

So all in all, there are so many different unfair factors, not just this one and it just goes on.....


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## loobylou713 (May 8, 2005)

If i was in the situation again I would never mention dh's children. How would they find out?


Linda
xxx


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## caz24 (Nov 25, 2004)

although im not directly effected i think this is totally unfair cant we get a petiton going? i know it probs wont help but wot else can we do ? xx


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## jasmine372 (Dec 5, 2008)

loubylou713 - i kicked myself when we got the referrak done as i knew we shoudl have lied and said nothign about bfs kids but im not sure he would have agreed as it would mean him denying their existence., easy for me but maybe not for him., ITS BL**** UNFAIR though. it makes things hard when i see them, we re not the best of buddies anyway and this added tension just isnt good.


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## PinkPeacock (Nov 9, 2006)

Our PCT seems to have sat there and said "Ok, how can we keep as many people off the list as possible?"

You have to be between 34 and 38, have a FSH under 10, have no surviving children by either partner, to have not had a pregnancy within the last three years and no adopted children.

It's ludicrous! When we heard the agre criteria we thought about adopting now and IVF later but you can't even do that. and how awful is it that you would be excluded because you had a miscarriage within three years.

People assume that you'll get IVF on NHS and are so surprised when I tell them I'm paying. I just don't know who would actually fit into those criteria at all?!

I have had some fairly interesting conversations with colleagues about IVF not being available on the NHS. They come out with stuff about infertility isn't an illness, isn't life threatening or painful. My response is that the NHS must have spent thousands on counselling for me and many other infertile women, and there are so many non life threatening illnesses that the NHS treats that aren't actually physical - mental health for a start. I even had a scar revision on the NHS after I had MRSA. It was unsightly but not interfering physically. IVF just seems to be seen in its own bubble and not taken seriously.

Anyway, rant over!
xxxx


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