City IVF clinic claims best results in Yorkshire

Hull’s IVF clinic says data from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority show it has the greatest success rate in a 200-mile radius ahead of cities including Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham, Newcastle and Manchester.

Compared to Hull’s 41.9 per cent successful implantation rate, Sheffield Care scored 27.8 per cent, Sheffield Jessop 26.6 per cent and Leeds 24.9 per cent for women aged under 35. Around 95 per cent of all successful implantations - clinical pregnancies - result in live births.

The IVF clinic in Hull, which sees around 300 to 400 women a year on the NHS and privately, also has a multiple birth rate significantly lower than the national average.

Consultant embryologist Dr Christine Leary said: “When a couple are desperate for a baby but are unable to conceive naturally, it can be difficult to navigate the raft of information that’s out there about IVF and find out how local clinics are performing.

“Going through IVF can be a stressful time, so it’s helpful for them to at least know where their best chances of success might be.”

Chief executive of the Infertility Network, Susan Seenan, said: “The ideal outcome is to take home a single healthy baby. It can seem like a good option getting two for one but it is not. Multiple births run a much higher risk for mother and baby.

“We don’t want clinics who claim to have a high implantation rate but then have a high multiple birth rate. It is great that Hull’s multiple birth rate is below the national average.”

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show an increased number of women aged 30 and over are conceiving.

Meanwhile the number of teenage pregnancies is at their lowest in more than four decades.