Couples are spending £1.7 billion in their quest to have a baby. This includes £1.07 billion on IVF alone as only 23% receive completely free treatment on the NHS.

On average couples spend £4,782 on fertility treatments. Yet only 47% of women go on to have a baby.

The National Fertility Survey, commissioned by RED magazine revealed women think they are 'leaving it too late for motherhood'. The average woman does not start trying to have a baby until her 30th birthday.

A woman's fertility peaks in her mid-20s and declines sharply after the age of 35.

Sam Baker, editor of RED magazine, said: "Infertility is the issue of our age and incredibly, we have entered the billion-pound baby era."

Ms Baker added: "Couples on ordinary salaries are being priced out. Some couples even take on mortgage scale debt in the pursuit of their dream of having a child."

Six out of 10 women, who have not yet had a child, said they are worried their past lifestyle could affect their fertility.

Yet the study also revealed a fifth of all fertility problems are due to men.

The main reasons couples need fertility treatment are unexplained fertility problems (36%), which could be linked to lifestyle, male fertility problems (19%) and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (16%).