Having a baby is a gift taken for granted by so many couples who are lucky enough to get pregnant naturally.
Only those who have tried for children without success will fully appreciate the emotional impact it can have.
Having to turn to IVF treatment for help to conceive is something more than 400 people a year do in the Yorkshire and Humber region alone.
The Hull IVF Unit is East Yorkshire's only specialist fertility clinic and has been helping to create families for more than 25 years.
Based in the Hull Women and Children's Hospital, the unit is a privately run clinic that treats private and NHS patients.
Patients can be referred from their own GP or their consultant.
Dr John Robinson, scientific director at the Hull IVF Unit, said more than 17 per cent of couples will need help to conceive.
He said: "Most young people take their fertility for granted.
"Many spend the first part of their reproductive years trying to avoid pregnancy, and then, perhaps in their late twenties, or in many cases, later, decide that the time is right to have a baby.
"They assume that, like turning on a tap, their ability to conceive will be straightforward.
"Sadly, for more than 17 per cent of couples in the UK, that will not prove to be the case.
"They will need medical help – investigations and, eventually, treatment."
The treatment of infertility is a specialised area of medicine, but one that has seen spectacular advances over the past 20 years.
Most couples can embark on this path with a reasonable expectation that they will eventually achieve a pregnancy, and deliver a healthy baby.
IVF treatment is a process spread over several weeks, involving many visits to the unit.
Laura Shaw, senior embryologist at the unit, explains how it works.
She said: "When a couple are first referred to us, we start the process of investigating the cause of the problem.
"We assess both partners; it could be an obvious reason, for example, they may have a pre-existing condition that is preventing them from conceiving.
"If there isn't an obvious reason, there are various tests we can easily carry out.
"Most patients go down the IVF route and this first involves the lady being stimulated to have more eggs retrieved than she would normally ovulate per month.
"Once they have reached a certain development and reach a certain size, tracked via ultrasound, the eggs are retrieved under sedation.
"The eggs are transferred to the lab and either put with the sperm (IVF) or the sperm is injected directly into the eggs (ICSI).
"The next day we check for fertilisation and track embryo development and the best one(s) are replaced into the uterus.
"The lady will then have a pregnancy test and if it is positive, she will have an early scan."
The Hull IVF Unit is a small but very successful clinic.
Last year, 42 per cent of people who underwent IVF in Hull became pregnant. This is higher than the national average and success rates can be compared via the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority website.
In general, younger women have a higher chance of success.
Success rates can decrease dramatically in women over the age of 40.
Dr Robinson said: "It is not necessary to seek expensive treatment in London in order to maximise the chances of success.
"Some of the most successful clinics are here in Yorkshire."
And, of course, it's not just couples who use the unit, it is also used by single women and same-sex couples.
The unit is currently campaigning for more sperm and egg donors to come forward.
Ms Shaw said: "Heterosexual couples may need a sperm donor if the man has testicular failure and is unable to produce his own sperm.
"Single ladies and same sex couples may also require donor sperm."
Patients can choose their donor after being given non- identifying characteristics of the donor, including, for example, ethnicity, eye colour and hair colour.
Unfortunately, the number of sperm donors has dropped dramatically in recent years after the law surrounding the protection of their identity changed, meaning the conceived child can receive details of their donor when they reach the age of 18 – if requested.
"We don't get half as many donors now as we used to," said Ms Shaw.
"Donors who do it, simply do it out of the goodness of their heart.
"We often find donors know someone who struggled to conceive and that's why they help.
"Or it maybe someone who has completed their own family and who knows how nice it is to have a family, who wants to help someone else start one."
The unit also offers an egg sharing programme, which can dramatically cut the cost of treatment if women agree to share some of their eggs to help others.
IVF Unit open dayTHE Hull IVF Unit is holding a free fertility awareness open day to allow people the chance to visit the facility.
It will be held on Tuesday, November 4, from 4pm to 7pm.
The clinic is a charity unit, supported by the Hull IVF Trust, and was set up to assist those patients suffering from infertility.
The unit is now offering the use of time-lapse technology, which is being offered at no extra charge.
Imaging software within the incubators record all moments of embryo development.
The software takes images every 15 minutes to provide much more information of how the embryo is developing, allowing the embryos to remain completely undisturbed.
To book a place on the fertility awareness day, call the unit on 01482 382648 or visit www.hullivf.org.uk for more details.
Visit www.fertilityfriends. co.uk for independent infertility and fertility support.
