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If you look around your child's classroom, one classmate is likely to have been conceived by IVF

If you look around your child's classroom, one classmate is likely to have been conceived by IVF

Nearly 50 years after Louise Brown became the world's first IVF baby, fertility treatment has transformed beyond recognition and now one in 31 UK babies is conceived through IVF. But experts say there are still major barriers to overcome.

Jessica Dance for MadeForMums

Serafina Kenny

Published: July 25, 2026 at 6:30 AM

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What began as an experimental and controversial fertility treatment has become one of modern medicine's biggest success stories. Yet while IVF has advanced enormously over the past five decades, access and affordability remain significant challenges for many would-be parents.

Since Louise Brown, the world's first baby conceived through in vitro fertilisation, was born on 25th July 1978, the number of people undergoing IVF has tripled over the past 30 years, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

Today, fertility treatment helps people with infertility, same-sex couples and solo parents build their families.

On World IVF Day, we spoke to Dr James Hopkisson, UK Medical Director at TFP Fertility, about how IVF has evolved over the past 47 years — and what still needs to change.

How has IVF changed over the last 50 years?

18th October 1979: A portrait of Louise Joy Brown, the first test-tube baby, with her parents in England.

Louise Joy Brown, the first baby born via IVF, with her parents in 1978 Getty/Express/Stringer

“The fundamental principle of IVF hasn’t changed since Louise Brown was born. It’s the exact same process of helping fertilisation take place outside the body and then transferring an embryo into the womb,” Dr Hopkisson says. “What has changed dramatically is the precision with which we’re able to do that. Over the last four decades, almost every stage of the process has evolved.”

This has led to much better success rates. When Robert Edwards, Patrick Steptoe, and Jean Purdy, carried out Louise Brown’s fertilisation, their success rate was 1.8% (live births to embryo transfers). Now, IVF is successful in 50% of cases treating women under 35 years old.

Part of this is because embryologists now have access to “more sophisticated technologies to monitor embryo development and identify those with the greatest chance of resulting in a healthy pregnancy,” Dr Hopkisson says.

Some of the biggest advances in IVF treatments from 1978 to now

Ovarian stimulation: The hormones that stimulate the production of multiple eggs have been optimised — now, more than one egg can be treated per a woman’s cycle, upping the likelihood that one is successfully fertilised.
ICSI: Embryologists can “either use conventional IVF, where eggs and sperm are combined naturally, or ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection), where a single healthy sperm is injected directly into an egg to maximise the chances of fertilisation,” Dr Hopkisson says.
Pre-implantation genetic testing: Embryologists can check that embryos have the correct number of chromosomes, which can reduce the likelihood of miscarriage and failed transfer.
Blastocyst cultures: Embryologists can allow embryos to develop for longer before they transfer them into the uterus, which can help them identify which ones are most likely to implant successfully.

One of the biggest developments in IVF techniques has been the improvement in freezing embryos.

“Freezing technology has also transformed treatment, and modern vitrification techniques now mean that frozen embryos can achieve similar success rates to fresh transfers,” Dr Hopkisson says.

This gives patients much more flexibility with timelines and means eggs don’t ned to be freshly retrieved each cycle. Instead, they can be stored for future pregnancies or for when the time is right.

“Embryologists now have much better tools for selecting which embryos have the greatest chance of leading to a healthy pregnancy, and improvements in laboratory conditions mean embryos can develop in an environment that more closely mimics the human body,” Dr Hopkisson says.

How does IVF work?

Although we might use the term ‘test tube baby’ to refer to children born via IVF, test tubes aren't actually involved in the process of fertilising an egg outside the womb. The first step is for a prospective mum to undergo a course of hormone medication. This “encourages the ovaries to mature several eggs at once, rather than the single egg that would normally develop during a menstrual cycle,” Dr Hopkisson says. “Once matured, the eggs are collected via a short procedure and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory setting,” he adds. Then, any viable embryos that are produced from this process are transferred into the prospective mum’s uterus with a catheter. From this point it’s just a two-week wait to see if the implantation has been successful.

Why are more babies born through IVF now?

The number of people undergoing IVF has risen steadily since 1978. This is because of the advances in technology that Dr Hopkisson describes, and also because of cultural changes.

Cropped close up photo of a doctor analysing cell samples in a clinical fertility laboratory

Getty/Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez

People are starting families later in life, due to prioritising their careers, the increased costs of living, and meeting their partner later in life. The older a couple is, the more likely they are to have problems conceiving — which is where IVF comes in.

Attitudes towards IVF have also changed massively, so more people have access to IVF, feel empowered to use it and don't see it as a controversial way of having a baby.

The NHS now offers IVF for people who have been trying to get pregnant for at least two years or who may otherwise struggle to get pregnant, which wasn’t always the case — before 2013 access to NHS IVF required a couple to have tired to conceive for three years.

And socially, IVF is far more acceptable. When Lousie Brown was born, there was backlash from some people, who believed that it was unnatural.

“IVF has become far more accessible and widely accepted than it was even 20 years ago, which has resulted in more and more babies being born. Around one in every 31 babies born in the UK are now conceived through IVF, as it becomes a much more mainstream option,” Dr Hopkisson says.

IVF has become far more accessible and widely accepted than it was even 20 years ago.

Dr James Hopkisson

“Advances in laboratory technology, embryo freezing and personalised treatment have all contributed to this increase in patients achieving successful pregnancies. At the same time, fertility treatment has become far less stigmatised and people now feel more comfortable exploring their options and seeking advice earlier.”

IVF is no longer just for heterosexual couples

IVF is also helping to create more diverse families than ever before. While many patients are heterosexual couples experiencing infertility, increasing numbers of single women and same-sex couples are choosing fertility treatment as part of their journey to parenthood.

Lesbian women doing IVF test with syringe at home

Getty/Maskot

“The demographic of IVF patients has changed considerably in recent years, and a wider variety of people are now considering fertility treatment. While many patients are still heterosexual couples, we’re also treating more single patients and same-sex couples who are choosing IVF as part of their journey to parenthood,” Dr Hopkisosn says.

While many patients are still heterosexual couples, we’re also treating more single patients and same-sex couples who are choosing IVF as part of their journey to parenthood.

Dr James Hopkisson

The number of female same-sex IVF patients has increased from around 1,000 in 2014 to 2,800 in 2024, while single IVF patients have more than tripled from 1,100 to 3,700. Solo women now represent around 7% of all patients in the UK undergoing IVF, up from around 3% in 2014, according to data from HFEA.

But while more LGBTQ+ couples are undergoing IVF treatment, their access isn’t equal to their heterosexual peers.

52% of opposite-sex couples aged 18-39 got NHS funding for their first IVF treatment from 2012-2022, but only 16% of female same-sex couples and 18% of single patients got the same.

Is IVF guaranteed to work?

Despite success rates being so much higher than in 1978, IVF is still not 100% successful. Getting pregnant via IVF depends on many factors, including age and the underlying causes of the infertility that necessitates it in the first place.

“Success rates are also not guaranteed,” Dr Hopkisson says. “While outcomes continue to improve, IVF can’t overcome every biological challenge, which is why realistic expectations and personalised care are so important.”

Access is still a challenge

As well as biases about LGBTQ+ couples and solo parents, access to IVF can be tricky for many people via the NHS.

“Eligibility criteria can vary drastically depending on where someone lives, meaning patients with very similar circumstances can have very different access to funded treatment. This postcode lottery continues to create inequalities and means a large proportion of patients have to self-fund IVF,” Dr Hopkisson says.

This postcode lottery continues to create inequalities and means a large proportion of patients have to self-fund IVF.

Dr James Hopkisson

Going private for fertility treatment comes with its own issues, too.

“Private treatment represents a financial commitment, especially as many people require more than one cycle to achieve a successful pregnancy. When you also factor in the cost of medication and any additional treatments, the overall cost increases,” Dr Hopkisson says.

What does the future of IVF look like?

Hand of a newborn IVF baby holding the finger of his father,

As Louise Brown celebrates her 47th birthday, fertility treatment continues to evolve.

Researchers are exploring ways to personalise treatment even further, improve embryo selection, and better understand why some embryos implant successfully while others don't. A recent study in the journal The Lancet found that many of the ‘add-on’ treatments that private fertility clinics offer to ostensibly improve people’s chances of conceiving have no effect on fertility — but on a more positive note, this does show that researchers are looking into how to optimise the treatment for best chances of conception.

Meanwhile, campaigners are trying to improve the consistency of access to fertility treatment on the NHS across the UK so that everyone has equal chance to access help conceiving, no matter where they live.

With approximately 3% of children born each year being conceived via IVF, it’s no longer a niche or controversial treatment, and instead allows people the choice to have children later in life or even to have children at all if they have fertility issues.

It's become a routine part of modern family-building, helping more people than ever realise their dream of becoming parents, and helping to create children who are more wanted than they can ever know.

Authors

Serafina Kenny journalist headshot

Serafina KennyDigital Journalist

Serafina Kenny is a Digital Journalist at MadeForMums. She writes news and features and has expertise in health, nutrition, relationships, and history. She has previously written for Business Insider, Women's Health, Stylist, Men's Health US, The i Paper, Dazed, and more. You can contact her with tips and story ideas (or compliments!) at serafina.kenny@immediate.co.uk.