If you're struggling to conceive and on the path to parenthood, looking to have a baby and are considering, planning or about to have fertility treatment like IVF, ICSI, Egg Donation, Sperm donation, Embryo donation treatment in Europe and in places like Spain, Greece and Czech Republic then you're in the right place.
I'm Emma Haslam and since the birth of our son in 2018, I have made it my mission to make fertility treatment more transparent, accessible, supported and affordable. I now help people around the world just like you to find a safe, best fit clinic and navigate fertility treatment in Europe. And since 2019 I have helped 100s of people around the world to make informed decisions that are right for them and to have fertility treatment in Europe and achieve their dreams of starting or expanding their families.
Is it best to have fertility treatment like IVF at home or abroad?
This is a question I asked myself when I needed private IVF treatment and something I guess if you are reading this blog post you are also considering! I know how hard it can feel to make this decision. Not easy! Typically as a starting point a lot of us look a fertility clinics offering treatments we think we need, like egg freezing, IVF, ICSI, donor egg/sperm and we look to find a couple of clinics within driving distance of where we live, which makes sense on a surface level - from a geographical/logistics standpoint and because it feels easier and more comfortable, plus perhaps you are more familiar with how private healthcare works in your home country.
By only looking in your local area you are likely to be missing out on getting the best support and fertility treatment from a clinic that is most suited to your needs medically and your personality too in terms of the type of support you would like to receive on your journey. We are all individuals and a one size process does not suit everyone. Perhaps you need an IVF clinic with a specialist provision, maybe you have low AMH, Endometriosis, PSOS, Autoimmune issues, male factor infertility, the list goes on but the point remains that perhaps the clinic an hours drive away might not be the best fit for you and you may be compromising on things that are too important to be a compromise. So when weighing things up do weigh up your reasons for considering fertility treatment both at home and abroad.
Whichever fertility clinic you choose please make sure that they are also a great fit. Ask yourself if they are truly a great fit? If not, please look elsewhere and do not pick a fertility clinic just because they're 20 minutes, 30 minutes away from your house, if this is the only reason you are choosing them.
I also want you to think about your overall budget for fertility treatment and not think about this as being for one cycle, unless you only plan to have one cycle of say IVF. Think about it lasting for potentially multiple cycles, because, you know, let's cut to the chase, it's a numbers game, sadly and while some people do get pregnant and have a baby the first time they have fertility treatment like IVF, there are lots of people who need more than one round of treatment. And if it's expensive to have fertility treatment like it is in places like the UK, Ireland, America, Canada, Australia and other places around the world then you may reduce your chances of a successful outcome if you have spent all your money in your home country when your money can stretch much further abroad.
Wherever you decide to have your fertility treatment you don't have any regrets, whatever the outcome and to know you have some flex and breathing space within your budget to allow more fertility treatment should it be needed takes some of the pressure off and gives you a more realistic chance of having a baby as you are more likely to be able to afford the treatment you may need and if it works first time, you have a baby and you need it if you don't need the money? Fantastic. You can spend that money on something far more fun than fertility treatment.
So just think about your reasons for potentially going abroad and your reasons for potentially staying at home and just make sure that you aren't doing it just for ease, or what feels easy because actually, what feels easy in the short term might not be the same in the long term. should that round at work. and what you don't want is regret thinking, oh, actually, yeah, you know what, I did go with that clinic because they were the closest one to me, but actually, I don't know if there were specialists in x, y and z and now we spent all my money on a warm round because it was so expensive and we've got no money left. And then you're in a position where you're looking back feeling awful and you've got regrets and that's a horrendous horrendous place to be.
Now, for some people going abroad for fertility treatment just feels very overwhelming and scary, in particular if you haven't got the information and support with it that you need, but can it be worth the effort? Yes absolutely. I am proof of this and the clients that I have helped globally to grow their families and I will direct you to some resources to help you at the end of this blog post.
You don't have to go through this on your own with all of that overwhelm of trying to work out what information is right, what isn't right up and say, is it worth it, is it right for me? You don't have to do that.
Free Resources & Step-By-Step Guides
To help you get started, I’ve created a free step-by-step guide to the process of having fertility treatment abroad. I hope you find it incredibly useful - it's exactly what I wished we had when we were in a similar position to you. You can get your Short guide to the process of having IVF abroad here and make sure to check your spam, junk, or promo folders if you don’t receive it within a few minutes.
I truly hope this free short guide helps you to understand the steps involved with having fertility treatment like IVF in Europe and what your next step might look like.
For more support check out my free resources below:
IVF ABROAD PODCAST
Just search Your IVF abroad on all your usual platforms like Apple and Spotify, or you can listen here
And if you need more personalized support to understand how having IVF abroad might work, so you can ask your questions to help you to decide whether it’s right for you then consider booking a 30 minute video PICK MY BRAIN call with me.