Fertility experts have accused a wellness company of exploiting vulnerable women by selling £250 “fertility drips” in shopping centres, marketed with an image of a baby in the womb.

Doctors and charities say customers are being offered false hope by Get A Drip, a vitamin and mineral treatment that describes itself as “the newest health sensation to hit the wellness scene”. A course of five treatments costs £1,375.

Katherine O’Brien, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas), warned of the lack of regulation of a product “that promises a quick fix at an extortionate cost”.

Doctors said the IV rehydration drips were unnecessary and unlikely to provide any benefit to fertility.

Get A Drip said it made no claims of alleviating any medical condition and simply aimed to help with “overall wellness”.

Gwenda Burns, of the charity Fertility Network UK, said: “Patients are often very vulnerable after years of trying to become parents. Fertility struggles and going through fertility treatment can put an enormous strain on both a person’s physical and mental health, but also their financial wellbeing when they are having to fund their own treatment. Companies such as GetADrip.com who are charging £250 for their fertility drip are exploiting their customers and offering false hope.”

Prof Geeta Nargund, a lead consultant for reproductive medicine at St George’s hospital in London, advised caution before trying the treatment. “A fertility drip won’t be able to treat fertility issues such as blocked or damaged fallopian tubes. The excessive administration of vitamins can potentially be harmful and any replacement of vitamins should be done under medical guidance,” she said. “Once again, this is a wake-up call to improve the regulation of alternative therapies and unproven treatments.”

Vitamin clinics providing intravenous drips to treat hangovers and jetlag burst on to British high streets after being popularised by celebrities such as Rihanna, Madonna and Cara Delevingne. Get a Drip describes its target market as “people who rate experience over possession, time over money and for whom wellness is the new luxury”.

Alongside IV drips claimed to boost the immune system and energy levels, Get A Drip sells an “anti-ageing drip” for £200, a slim drip for £250 and a mood-boosting drip for £300.

Tom Dolphin, a consultant anaesthetist in west London, said there was no good evidence of the effectiveness of such treatments. “This company has been very careful to make absolutely no claims for their drips other than the suggestive names, which is just as well, given the lack of evidence of benefit for these things in healthy people beyond placebo effects,” he said. “Healthcare professionals have a duty to be honest … IV fluids are prescription-only medicines for a reason.”

Raj Mathur, a consultant gynaecologist at St Mary’s hospital in Manchester, said: “The ingredients listed are all available in a balanced diet. Deficiency of these is rare in modern societies. I cannot see any benefit to your fertility from having these ingredients infused into your bloodstream.”

Richard Chambers, the founder of Get A Drip, said the menu of treatments had been designed based on client requests. Justifying the cost of the drip, he said customers were “essentially paying for a doctor or nurse to see you immediately for a free consultation”.

He said: “We don’t go beyond the EU register of claims, so there’s no false advertising. These vitamins have certain benefits surrounding the fertility process. The claims we make [of the benefits of the vitamin drips] … are no different to what you’ll find in [vitamins sold in] Boots or Holland and Barrett.”

A spokesperson added: “We do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. Our products are nutritional supplements which aim to increase overall wellness.”