Women who undergo IVF are more likely to give birth if they have health insurance that covers the procedure.

These are the findings of new research to come out of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

It seems that finance, not fertility, may be the key reason why some families who undergo IVF go home with a baby, while others don’t.

For many families, the high cost of IVF prohibits women from seeking a second treatment if the first attempt fails.

“It’s a simple and possibly obvious finding, but it highlights the importance of health insurance in the outcome of fertility treatments,” said lead author Emily S. Jungheim, MD, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the School of Medicine.

The study looked at 1,572 women who sought IVF treatment from 2001 to 2010 at Washington University’s Fertility and Reproductive Medicine Center.

The results showed that for women with IVF coverage, the average likelihood of giving birth after up to four attempts was 59 per cent.

For women without cover, the likelihood dropped to 51 per cent.

“The biggest hurdle may not be the fertility treatment but the cost,” said Jungheim.