Lincolnshire couples call for change over rules on NHS IVF treatment
Video report by Emma Hayward
A woman who is unable to conceive naturally says she feels "punished" after being denied NHS fertility treatment because her husband already had children.
Heidi - who did not want to give her last name - said she has wanted to be a mother for as long as she could remember but, due to health issues, had been left with IVF as her best option.
But because her husband has children from a previous relationship the NHS in Lincolnshire will not fund the treatment.
Heidi said: "It makes me sad. It makes me angry as well. I think I go through quite a lot of emotions with it.
"Why can't I be allowed that like every other woman? Just because my husband has children from a previous marriage? Why shouldn't I be allowed that?"
Who can get IVF treatment on the NHS?
The NHS says health trusts across England and Wales are working to provide the same levels of service.
But rules around IVF differ across the country and often depend on local policies.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) may have additional criteria people need to meet before they can have IVF on the NHS, such as not having any children already, from current or previous relationships; being a healthy weight; not smoking; or being under a certain age.
Although up to three cycles of IVF are recommended, some ICBs only offer one cycle, or only offer NHS-funded IVF in exceptional circumstances.
Campaigners in Lincolnshire claim couples are facing a "postcode lottery" when it comes to accessing treatment.
Couple Sarah and Chris Curtiss are expecting a baby after trying for eight years.
They had been told their chances of conceiving naturally were slim and were unable to get IVF on the NHS because Chris already has a child from a previous relationship.
They have been campaigning for years for a change in the rules to allow greater access to infertility treatment for couples in the same situation.
Sarah said: "I have a fantastic relationship with my step daughter I absolutely love her to pieces but that doesn't ever, and hasn't ever, stopped me wanting a child of my own as well and to bring a child into this family unit is the missing puzzle piece for us."
While Sarah and Chris have managed to conceive naturally, Heidi worries that without access to IVF she may never become a mother.
She said: "I do feel like I'm being punished."
People in the East Midlands are now being asked for their view on the future of NHS IVF services, but the policy which has affected Sarah, Chris, Heidi and her husband could remain the same.
Chris describes the current system as an "emotional rollercoaster", adding: "Just because I'm lucky enough to be a father to someone else's child, why does my wife now have the inability to receive the support that she deserves?
"And its not just about us and our family this is about families up and down the country."
NHS Lincolnshire's Integrated Care Board said no decisions have been made and it was "aware of strength of feelings" around fertility treatments.
It said the views of those who filled out the online survey would inform the final policy.
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