What are the realities for women who go through IVF? Following news that a new technique may have a higher success rate, Jan Patience investigates.

Every day, Suzanne Linskaill is faced with the embodiment of what she sees as the biggest failure of her life. "I sat beside a mum with a gorgeous little girl on the bus and I couldn't look at her, because I could feel the tears starting," says the 29-year-old from Edinburgh, voice still bright despite the underlying sadness that a decade of trying for a baby brings in its wake.

"I work in a nursery, and when I get into work, I have all these parents bringing in their babies. At least four of my workmates are pregnant, too, so it's impossible to escape the thing you want most in the world."

It is estimated that around 150,000 couples living in Scotland, like Suzanne and her husband Charles, suffer from infertility problems. Until the birth of the world's first "test-tube baby", Louise Brown, 30 years ago, there was little hope for this small army of couples faced with the agony of failing to conceive. But in vitro fertilisation (IVF) paved the way for millions of women to achieve their dream of motherhood, even though the path is a long and rocky one with no guarantees of a positive outcome.

As Suzanne, who was diagnosed seven years ago with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), knows only too well, the procedure is invasive, involving daily injections of large doses of fertility drugs, which can cause serious side-effects. Mood swings, extreme tiredness, acne and sweats are all common, while the injections into the abdomen can be quite painful. In Suzanne's case, earlier this year, her first cycle of IVF at Edinburgh Royal's Assisted Conception Unit was postponed when she suffered from ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which causes abdominal swelling due to enlarged ovaries, plus nausea and vomiting.

"It was such a worrying time," admits Charles, 55. "I read that, in extreme cases, OHSS sufferers can suffer blood clots, and I'd been told that there were three different grades of it. Suzanne was on grade two. They had intended to retrieve the eggs, but it was too dangerous so the IVF cycle went on hold.

"To add insult to injury, we had to go off to Mothercare to get her some maternity clothes because of the swelling in her breasts and abdomen. It was awful for her.

"When it came to the point when she was able to start IVF again in late summer, she was so hopeful. But, again, after a lot of discomfort and high hopes, that ended in disappointment."

The Linskaills are allowed two more cycles of IVF on the NHS. "She has been through the mill," says Charles. "We both have."

Last week, it was revealed that an Oxford clinic using a new technique known as in vitro maturation (IVM) was reporting that this relatively gentle method gave a higher success rate than IVF - particularly for women such as Suzanne, who are under 35 and have PCOS.

The technique - which is not the same as "soft IVF", another new method in the news - avoids the need for high doses of fertility drugs to mature a woman's eggs inside her body. Instead, eggs are removed and allowed to mature for one to two days in a laboratory. They are then fertilised with sperm and placed into the woman's womb.

Since October last year, some 400 babies around the world have been born using IVM, which is said to cost around £1500, compared to around £4000 per IVF cycle. However, last week's announcement was given a muted reception by one of the UK's leading practitioners in the field, Professor Richard Fleming, scientific director of the privately run Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine.

"This technique is not available in Scotland and I don't know anyone who has it on their radar," he said. "It's been around for five years and it started off with very poor success rates, so everyone kept a watching brief to see if its application became better defined.

"It could be that this point is approaching, but most people I know will treat it very guardedly. It's not going to be significantly cheaper, either, because although a typical IVF cycle costs around £4000, the biggest cost is not the drugs, it's the lab equipment and staffing. In the case of IVM, these eggs don't mature at the same rate, so they need to be constantly observed by an embryologist.

"Here, we don't get patients with PCOS because of the way we manage it, but if the idea of IVM was raised people will say, We get a 50% success rate with women in our IVF programme, so why do we need to pursue this?'"

Professor Fleming also issued a warning to women looking to "soft IVF" as a less invasive procedure. "There has been some misleading press on this method," he says. "It carries a high incidence of abnormal eggs and pregnancy rates are less than 5%."

Although IVF is an invasive, prolonged procedure, Scotland's fertility clinics have more than enough patients to keep them busy - particularly since, in some areas, the age at which women can be treated by NHS clinics has been raised to 40.

Figures released last month show that, in Scotland, 2737 women had IVF in 2006, leading to 908 births and 1118 babies. Recent data from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority also revealed variations between clinics in Scotland. For women under 35, the success rate for IVF attempts using fresh embryos ranged from 25% at Glasgow Royal Infirmary to 37% at Edinburgh's Assisted Conception Unit.

Suzanne Linskaill, like many women in her position, constantly dusts down her battered and bruised body after each disappointment and moves on to the next stage.

"IVM is interesting," she says, "particularly since I fall into the category which it would seem to help best. But, for now, we have two more cycles of IVF to get through.

"Everyone tells you not to get your hopes up, especially on the first attempt, but you can't help it. You'll put up with any pain. They managed to get 23 eggs from me and four embryos were successfully fertilised. To me, they were my babies.

"I was at work when I called to find out if I was pregnant or not, and when the nurse said, Sorry to tell you, my wee darling, but the test's come back negative,' I cried out, No!' and just broke down. I had to hand the phone back to my boss, whose office I was in.

"IVF is not the easiest thing, but I'll go through anything to be a mum. It's all I've ever wanted."

• For information and advice, visit www.infertilitynetworkuk.com or call 0800 008 7464.

Acupuncture and IVF: what's the story?
Barely a week goes by without revelations about new research relating to fertility. Last week, as well as the story about IVM, it was announced that two new studies had discovered acupuncture appears to have no effect in boosting a woman's chance of falling pregnant.

Acupuncture, the ancient Chinese healing method of balancing out energy by inserting needles at strategic points on the body, has become a talking point in the fertility world, with many clinicians taking the view that it can actually be detrimental to fertility treatment.

The first study in Chicago carried out a double-blind test, in which a total of 124 women on IVF were split into two groups, with one being given genuine acupuncture for 25 minutes before and after IVF. The other group were given "sham" acupuncture, where needles were inserted into the body but not at known acupuncture points.

A second, similar study in Hong Kong gave fake acupuncture using retractable needles that looked similar to acupuncture needles.

Both pieces of research found that the overall pregnancy rate was significantly higher when the fake acupuncture was used.

The research has been greeted with dismay by many of the patients attending the clinics of Glasgow-based acupuncturist Elaine Collins, who has developed a reputation for helping couples with fertility problems.

"I have had several people commenting about the studies," she says. "I can't really comment on the research, but people always have an agenda when they carry out research.

"What I would say is that I would not want to see someone new who was in the middle of IVF treatment. I work all the way through with a patient, and there are different things that I do at different stages. I mirror what is happening in the IVF cycle in my treatment.

"I see women - and men - who are trying to conceive and I always say we need at least three months before you start to see a difference. It's like gardening. You have to prepare the soil first. It's not just about acupuncture, it's the whole package - diet, lifestyle and so on - and that's part of the approach we take, too.

"I have had a lot of patients conceive naturally and using IVF. Of 16 patients I've seen who have had IVF in the last year, there have been 11 pregnancies."

• www.keytolife.co.uk