Couples 'need more help with conception problems'

More than nine in 10 couples who have problems conceiving do not get the treatment they need to help them have a baby, experts said today.

A new international action group, the Assisted Conception Taskforce (ACT), said worldwide only six per cent of the 90 million couples with conception problems received the treatment they needed.

ACT, meeting in London today, also said there was an appalling lack of awareness of the options available. A poll of 100 people in Australia, Britain, Germany and France revealed 48 per cent said the options given them by doctors were confusing. Sandra Dill, of ACT, said: "Either people don't try to find help, or they find it hard to access and drop out."