Research into NHS data has revealed huge discrepancies in the time it takes to access NHS fertility services across the country.

World Infertility Awareness Month is celebrated annually during the month of June, brining awareness to infertility issues across the globe.

To coincide with the awareness month, My Expert Midwife gathered data on 550 NHS fertility clinics, analysing GP referral times, patient ratings, number of clinics per person and waiting times for egg and sperm donors to establish a league table indicating the varied accessibility to fertility services across the country.

Kingston upon Thames scored joint sixth with Blackburn and Medway on GP referral times (see table below), with patients having to wait on average 30 weeks before being referred by their GP to receive fertility treatment.

SNAPSHOT: GP referral wait time league table ranked 1st-10th (My Expert Midwife).

The research revealed that Northampton, Twickenham and Croydon were the areas with the best access to fertility services, with particularly low GP referral times and higher ratings from patients.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bradford, Hemel Hampstead and Leicester ranked the lowest with the longest waiting times and fewer staff (full league table available here).

My Expert Midwife's study comes on the backdrop of recent ONS figures indicating fertility rates in England are at an all-time low, falling from 1.66 children per woman in 2019 to 1.59 in 2020. One of the main reasons cited has been the postponement in childbearing with women waiting until their late 30s and early 40s before trying to conceive.

Lesley Gilchrist, registered midwife and co-founder of My Expert Midwife said: "This data shows that there is a real disparity in the provision of fertility services across the UK with a huge difference in the waiting times and the number of clinics per population across the UK.

"In the UK, most couples will not be referred to a fertility specialist unless they have been actively trying for a baby for a year, are in a same-sex relationship or have a pre-existing fertility-related condition.

"For those that go on to fertility investigations and treatment, many couples find the process mentally and physically draining. They find it causes emotional turmoil, in some cases places financial pressures on themselves and puts huge pressure on their relationships, all of which can lead to increased anxiety and depression."

Further research conducted by My Expert Midwife found that Google searches for 'fertility clinics' have doubled over the last five years and that each month there are over 100,000 online searches for information around 'trying to conceive' and 'getting pregnant'.

Number of Google searches surrounding conceiving and pregnancy per thousand (My Expert Midwife).

Despite the considerable demand for fertility help, the organisation underlined the lack of clinically accurate information available online.

In a recent study carried out by My Expert Midwife surveying people who had tried to conceive in the last five years and had taken longer than three months to get pregnant, the results showed that 65% of respondents agreed that there wasn't enough support and information available online for couples trying to conceive.

In response to this, My Expert Midwife have launched an information hub and not-for-profit conception kit to help people maximise the chance of getting pregnant naturally. The hub features clinically accurate information for men and women and aims to educate people on the science of conception and how to better understand their bodies and cycles.

For more information on the 'Trying To Conceive' kit, visit the link here.