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Eva van Rooijen: As A Mother Thanks to IVF, I Used to Think I Understood the Struggle…
Eva van Rooijen/LinkedIn
Nov 3, 2026, 17:24

Eva van Rooijen: As A Mother Thanks to IVF, I Used to Think I Understood the Struggle…

Eva van Rooijen, Chief Executive Officer at Foveo Fertility, shared on LinkedIn:

“As a mother thanks to IVF, I used to think I understood the struggle.

I was wrong. Naively privileged. I only understood part of it.

It’s European Fertility Week, and in the UK, it’s National Fertility Awareness Week.

The word ‘awareness’ triggered me.

When I co-founded Foveo Fertility, I brought experience in healthtech innovation, entrepreneurship, funding and thought I understood the patient experience.

One look into IVF professionally tought me how privileged my journey actually was:

I’m Dutch.

1. In the Netherlands, our basic mandatory health insurance covers three full cycles of IVF (under the age of 43).

Across multiple rounds of IUI, IVF, and five years of embryo storage, I paid €0 out of pocket.

2. In the UK, about 70% of IVF is privately paid, averaging £7,000 per cycle.

3. In most of Europe, coverage isn’t much better.

4. In the US, it is far worse.

5. And in many parts of the world, reliable reporting does not even exist.

IVF is emotionally exhausting.

I never got used to the hormone injections, but the two-week wait between the embryo transfer and finding out if it ‘stuck’ was the hardest part.

Remaining hopeful, but not too hopeful.

Now, I imagine how much heavier that wait must be when you know you cannot afford another cycle if this one fails.

I was also fortunate to be supported by my family, friends, and employer.

Still combining IVF with work was challenging.

Now, I imagine how much heavier that must be when you have to take on a second job, crowdfund, or take on debt just to afford a single shot at your biggest dream in life.

I am so grateful to the patients who have shared this side of their journey with me. It made me cry, it deepened my gratitude, and most importantly it strengthened my commitment to improve outcomes for aspiring parents even further.

It takes far more than ‘awareness’ to make fertility care more equitable.

But awareness is a necessary start, and I hope this post helps a little.

If you made it all the way to the end, please let me know your thoughts in the comments.”

Stay informed with the latest updates in fertility and reproductive medicine on Fertility News.

Awareness European Fertility Week Eva van Rooijen Fertility Fertility News Foveo Fertility IUI IVF National Fertility Awareness Week OBGYN Privilege reproductive health Reproductive Medicine Women’s Health
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