London – October 13, 2026 -- Mothers in the U.K., Sweden and France report having 2-2.1 children on average, against the 2.8-2.9 they say they want, according to new data from the IVI Institute Fertility Barometer. The study surveyed 24,074 women aged 19 to 49 across nine countries.
IVI Institute, formerly IVI RMA Global, released the regional findings as it consolidates its clinics under a single name. Clinics will operate as IVI Fertility, Livio and Create Fertility as members of IVI Institute.
Women start families later than planned in all three markets
81-84% of women in the three countries are already mothers or want children, and 68-70% rate motherhood as a medium-high or high priority. Among women who reported a target age, 31-41% had their first child later than desired.
Women most often cited finding the right partner (U.K. 42%, Sweden 44%, France 41%) and confidence in the decision (U.K. 35%, Sweden 38%, France 43%) as the factors that made it the right time to start a family.
Infertility has affected about 5.2 million women across the three countries
Roughly one in five women has experienced infertility, and more than 1 million are experiencing it now. Among those affected, the share rating its negative impact at 7 out of 10 or higher is 59% in Sweden, 68% in the U.K. and 79% in France.
Only 17-21% of women who have experienced infertility report undergoing IVF. Respondents cited lack of confidence in success and emotional stress as substantial deterrents, alongside financial concerns. The findings indicate that treatment uptake depends on trust and information as well as cost.
IVI Institute pools more than 200 clinics in 15 countries
The network connects physicians, embryologists, scientists, laboratories, data and research. Javier Sánchez-Prieto, IVI Institute Global CEO, said the unified structure is intended to address emerging demand through expanded access and coordinated, personalized care.
Antonio Pellicer, Executive Chairman, described the rebrand as an evolution of more than 30 years of work, intended to speed innovation and improve consistency of care.
Survey ran May 16 to July 3, 2026 with GfK
IVI Institute conducted the online survey with GfK, a NielsenIQ company, across Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, the UAE, the U.K. and the U.S. Results were weighted by region, age and education level, except in the UAE, where weights were applied by emirate and age. The margin of error is ±0.63 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with larger margins among subgroups.