Life today A gift from Gran… with a hefty price tag!

We all know about baby boomers helping their children buy homes. Now they’re footing the bill for something far more special – their IVF grandchildren

Today, one in every 50 babies born in Britain is the result of IVF treatment. and, thanks to long waiting lists, the postcode lottery and cuts in fertility treatment, six out of every 10 IVF cycles are funded privately. with each cycle costing between £6,000 and £10,000 – a huge amount for a generation struggling with financial pressures and job insecurity – the more comfortably off baby boomers are increasingly stepping in to help their children buy a baby – an often desperately longedfor grandchild. ‘It’s a human yearning,’ says psychologist Dr Terri apter. ‘The same psychology that makes having and raising children special is not just parent to child, it’s also grandparent to grandchild.’ and for many would-be grandmothers, there’s fear mixed with longing. Fear that it won’t happen in time and fear your children won’t be able to have children – especially devastating if it’s your daughter who can’t conceive. Dr apter says mothers identify with that all-consuming longing, frustration and pain. They’re also denied the intimacy of watching a daughter navigate pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood – as well as that bond with their grandchild.

‘Parents of a son can feel one step removed from their grandchild, because the son’s wife is the gatekeeper,’ says Dr apter. ‘But there’s nothing between a grandmother and her daughter’s child.’ as these grandmothers’ stories show…