'NHS would have taken too long' NHS

Clare Robinson began trying for a baby shortly after marrying and quickly became concerned about her chances of having children.

Even though she was still in her twenties she and husband Christopher did not want to wait after tests flagged up a problem.

The couple - both events organisers - opted to pay for private IVF treatment, and her parents helped with the bill. Mrs Robinson, 36, is now a full-time mother to Louis, four, and Oliver, one.

"I married Christopher when I was 27 and after a year we started trying for a baby," Mrs Robinson, from Tooting, said. "Six months later I started worrying.

Tests revealed Christopher, now 51, had a low sperm count. After exploring their options, the couple decided on IVF.

"We were on the NHS waiting list but it was something like two years, so we got the money together and decided to pay," Ms Robinson said. With her parents' help, the couple spent around £3,000 on the treatment at Guy's Hospital near London Bridge. As first-time IVF patients, the accompanying drugs were paid for by their local authority, Lambeth, saving them up to £1,000.

After two embryos were implanted in August 2004, the couple received "wonderful" news. Mrs Robinson, at 31, was pregnant.

Two years after Louis was born, the Robinsons planned more IVF to add to their family so Clare was shocked to become pregnant before it even began. She believes she would never have got pregnant again without the initial IVF treatment, which made her body "more receptive".