Cluster 1 · Explained
Fertility and IVF explained
How common infertility really is, what IVF success figures mean, which add-ons have evidence behind them, what egg freezing can and cannot promise, and how a 1978 experiment became a routine treatment.
How common is infertility? What the WHO and NHS figures actually say
One in six people experience infertility in their lifetime, according to the WHO. What that figure measures, how the NHS describes the odds of conceiving, and when to seek advice.
IVF success rates explained: what the UK regulator's 2023 figures show
Birth rates per embryo transferred, fresh versus frozen transfers, age, multiple births and NHS funding: a plain reading of the HFEA's 2023 IVF figures.
IVF add-ons: what the evidence shows, add-on by add-on
Endometrial scratching, time-lapse imaging, PGT-A, EmbryoGlue and more: the UK fertility regulator's five-colour ratings, explained in plain language.
Egg freezing: what the numbers show about age, cost and storage
Egg freezing cycles have almost tripled in the UK since 2019. What the HFEA says about storage limits, costs, egg numbers and why age at freezing matters most.
From one birth in 1978 to millions: how IVF became routine
Louise Brown, the 2010 Nobel Prize, 13 to 17 million IVF babies and about four million treatment cycles a year: the history of IVF in verified figures.
In depth
Housing and fertility: what the data say
Does the cost of housing lower birth rates? What OECD data, studies of homeowners and renters in the US and England, and European comparisons actually show, with their limits.
Fertility and IVF explained is part of the plain-language section of reproduction-online.org. Articles cite their sources and are dated. They explain published guidance and research and are not medical advice.