In vitro fertilization treatment has increased by 50 percent among women in Australia and New Zealand, but only a few of the older women are able to deliver a baby.

From 2004 to 2009, IVF rates soared by 50 percent according to figures released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The use of assisted reproductive technologies also saw a sharp increase among mothers aged 35 and older, in both countries.

Even as the IVF process gains wider acceptance by the general public, especially among women, its success rate is yet to improve from 1 percent for women 44 years old and above. This is in stark contrast to 25 percent success rate for women aged 30 to 40 years old.

"The older the woman is then the lower the live delivery rates," said Peter Illingworth who is the president of the Fertility Society of Australia.

In the study made by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, a total of 70,541 assisted reproductive technology cycles were done in Australia and New Zealand in 2009, a 14 percent increase from figures in 2008 and 48 percent rise since 2005.

Out of all the IVF treatments done, just over 12,000 babies were delivered. At least 25 percent of those IVF cycles were done on women who have given birth before to other babies.

Multiple births were recorded to be at 8.2 percent following a decline in 2005 with about 14 percent of the IVF cycles having at least two babies born at the same time. In 2009, only eight percent of the IVF cycles resulted to twins. In the same year, tonly 0.2 percent of the cycles resulted to triplets.

In 2009, 3 percent of all women who delivered babies in Australia underwent assisted reproductive technology processes. A big chunk of these women were able to utilize their own fresh eggs or eggs that they have harvested prior to the procedure. Only five percent of them relied on eggs from donors and other assisted reproductive technology forms such as surrogate mothers.