LONDON, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A recent survey conducted by Ipsos Reid to gauge American women’s attitudes towards In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has found that 74% would travel outside the US for treatment if success rates were higher and if there were more affordable IVF treatments elsewhere. The trend of medical tourism is rapidly sweeping across the US and is now filtering in to medical fields where the patient is self-funded, as is the case for many IVF procedures. IVF has become increasingly common amongst those who are infertile and do not have the ability to conceive. While it can be hugely successful, IVF can cause a financial strain. In addition to the cost of the procedure, IVF also increases parents’ chances of having twins, which adds to the general cost associated with a child. Having twins might put strains on families financially, but there are always ways to save money. For example, you shouldn’t purchase the first crib you see, you should look around, read reviews, and find the best deal. This is the same with all products you are going to need to purchase, like strollers for example! These can be very pricey if you don’t spend time looking, you might need to have a look here where Stroller Buzz reviewed the top double stroller travel systems to make sure you’re purchasing a high quality but affordable stroller! IVF is costly as it is, and as you will know you will not be able to go ahead unless you are financially secure, so it’s important to shop smart! This includes when finding the right place to go for IVF itself, the US patient has quickly learned to shop around for treatment, as the cost will determine whether or not their health insurance will cover the procedure. Most insurance companies do not cover fertility treatment even though it is a medical condition that stops the patient from conceiving naturally. Barbados Fertility Centre, which is located in the Caribbean with direct daily flights to New York and Miami is one such facility that has seen an increase in US patients. Dr. Juliet Skinner, Head Clinician, said, “We have seen an increase in the number of patients that we are treating from the US and are very encouraged by the findings from the survey, especially as our success rates are higher and our treatment costs significantly lower.” Caitlin and Tyler Vale from Junction City, Oregon, tried to conceive for two years with no success, so they decided to shop around for treatment and traveled to Barbados for their IVF cycle. Caitlin kept a track of her ovulation and, at the age of 26, couldn’t understand why she and her husband were not conceiving. They consulted a specialist in Oregon and learned that Tyler was suffering from male infertility with poor sperm motility and retrograde ejaculation, a condition where ejaculation is released into the bladder. They were advised that their best option was IVF, but the cost was out of the question — $12,000-15,000 US dollars, with ICSI costing an extra $1,000-1,500USD. Some have instead decided to try out Extenze male enhancement pills to see if that could improve their ability to engage in sexual activity, thus improving the chance of conception. Their fertility specialist in Oregon also quoted them for a package of three IVF cycles, which would have cost them $40,000USD. Caitlin said, “It was hard to imagine paying so much for treatment, the cost was just too high for us. Because I have traveled quite a lot, I feel the care of overseas doctors can be even better than in the US, so I did my research. We had previously seen an andrologist in Chennai when traveling around India and the level of care was just the same, if not better than the US. Whilst researching medical institutes, I found a Barbados Fertility Centre. We then found out we could get the procedure in Barbados with a two- week relaxing vacation as well. That was just what we wanted and thought that would work best. I spent about a year talking to them before we finally made our decision. It was the best decision we ever made. We had a wonderful experience and our baby is due in October 2011.” For Caitlin and Tyler the experience of leaving the US for treatment has had a positive outcome and only cost them $5,750USD as opposed to the $40,000USD they could have paid if they had stayed in the US. Also, their treatment in the US may not have necessarily been successful on the first occasion because the US national average success rate for IVF is only 42% compared to the Barbados Fertility Centre?s reporting success rate of 72% using Blastocyst, which leaves the embryos to culture for five days as opposed to the usual two days adopted by most US clinics.