Almost two years on, the coronavirus pandemic is still having devastating impacts for people seeking fertility treatment.
New research from Fertility Network UK has found more than half (58%) of patients have experienced delays in accessing treatment as a result of the pandemic, with services yet to catch up with the backlog in some parts of the country.
Thousands of couples had their pregnancy dreams put on hold in March 2020, when fertility services within the NHS and private clinics were paused.
While clinics were officially given the green light to resume treatments in May 2020, many of the 400 people surveyed said they were still being impacted.
Patients reported widespread delays in diagnostic testing, including blood tests and semen analysis and a range of surgical procedures from laparoscopy to surgical sperm retrieval. Delays ranged from months to more than two years.
One woman, who chose not to be named, said her first appointment with a fertility clinic was in September 2019, but she is yet to start treatment.
Many patients said they had to repeat tests which were out of date by the time they were able to access treatment, and reported appointments being repeatedly cancelled.
The survey collected anonymous quotes from those impacted, which make for heartbreaking reading.
“It is hard to put into words the trauma of having my treatment delayed,” one woman said. “The stress and anxiety suffered was indescribable.”
Another added: “I was told I was non-priority as it was for fertility and not for health, which was very upsetting and made me feel worthless.”
Several women raised concerns that they would not be able to have families because of the delays.
Rachel Slavny-Cross, 33, from Hertfordshire, is among those who took part in the survey and has chosen to share her story to reduce the silence surrounding fertility treatment.
The university researcher first sought help with her fertility in 2019. She and her husband had struggled to conceive for a year, and she was also experiencing abdominal pain.
Her GP arranged a referral and tests, which, after a wait of more than six months, gave her a diagnosis of adenomyosis – a condition similar to endometriosis, which would require surgery before they could even start fertility treatment.
They were warned of long NHS waiting times for surgery and treatment – even before the pandemic began – and made the decision to seek help privately.
But in spring 2020, their treatment was disrupted by the pandemic. Although they didn’t face delays as long as many NHS patients, lockdown restrictions still took their toll, with Slavny-Cross forced to attend appoints without her husband.
“I’ve had close to 50 appointments in the last year, getting quite heavy, complex information given to me, while I’m in quite an emotional state, and he is waiting in the car park,” she says. “It was overwhelming, unbelievably overwhelming.”
The Fertility Network UK survey highlights the impact of the pandemic on mental health, with patients reporting increased levels of anxiety, depression, stress and frustration.
A quarter of patients having fertility treatment during the pandemic said they have not been able to access emotional support or counselling, despite this being a requirement for licensed fertility clinics.
Many said counselling was not mentioned at all, while others faced long waiting lists before they could access mental health support.
Slavny-Cross and her husband experienced a chemical pregnancy – an early pregnancy loss that occurs shortly after implantation – but she couldn’t access a counselling appointment until weeks later.
“I was in a really, really bad place,” she says. “You’re going through a crisis there and then. It’s just devastating, and you don’t feel supported, really, unless you can get that support at the right time.”
Now, the couple are waiting to have a further round of treatment, but Slavny-Cross says the fear of catching Covid is all-consuming, because they’re terrified it will impact their treatment.
“For most of this last year, we’ve been isolating, irrespective of if the rest of the world is, we’ve had to fully lock down,” she says.
“It just makes things much more lonely and I think that increases depression, because we haven’t really been able to distract ourselves and we haven’t really been able to get the support we really need from other people.
“It’s just a constant stress and fear of getting ill at the wrong time.”
Gwenda Burns, chief executive of Fertility Network UK, said the survey has highlighted how the impact on fertility patients is ongoing.
“Many fertility patients are still facing delays, particularly with the tests and treatments they need before assisted conception or referral to the fertility clinic,” she told HuffPost UK.
“We are particularly concerned about the impact on fertility patients, where we know that age makes such a difference to outcomes. Time really is of the essence for fertility patients. Research from Aberdeen University earlier this year showed the impact that delays of six months or a year may have, and we know this is now a reality for many patients.”
HuffPost UK has contacted the Department for Health and Social Care in relation to the survey findings and will update this article if we receive a response.