For some people conceiving a baby is absolutely free – but for me, all up it cost around $30,000. I got off lightly.

For some it’s as high as $100,000, putting it out of reach for many.

It’s estimated that globally, the IVF industry is worth around $23 billion, and most of that is coming out of the pockets of people like you and me.

In Australia, most IVF clinics will recommend that you budget for at least two IVF cycles, which are about $10,500 each.

Even though that’s about $20,100 in upfront costs, you can generally expect to get back about $9,000 through Medicare. Those who have private health insurance cover will recoup more through their provider.

That money basically covers the cost of consultations with an IVF specialist, fertility drug treatments, the collection of eggs and creation of embryos, which are then either freshly implanted or frozen for another cycle.

Using frozen eggs may reduce the cost per cycle to about $2,000 – $3,000, which is also offset by Medicare and private health insurance rebates.

The biggest factor in determining how much your IVF treatment is going to cost is how many cycles you undertake – and that largely depends on the number of eggs that can be successfully cultivated.

In some European countries like Spain, an increasing number of companies are offering clients the option to pay one off fees for as many cycles as needed.