FINDING THE BEST FERTILITY CARE

By Evelina Weidman Sterling, PhD  

            Seeking fertility care is a huge investment on your part.  It is expensive, time-consuming, as well as emotionally and physically draining.  In order to maximize your chances for success, it is important to find the best care possible from the very beginning.

            Start off with talking with others.  Even though many people are reluctant to talk about their personal experiences, the truth is infertility is more common than you think.  Over 7.3 million women or one in ever six couples has difficulty getting pregnant.  Once you start the conversation, you might be surprised at what you find out. 

            Because infertility treatments are intensive and require multiple visits to the clinic over the course of several weeks, carefully consider your options.  How much time can you take off of work?  Are you able to travel for treatment?  If so, how far can you travel?  For some, it may be a requirement to stay as close to home (or work) as possible.  For others, you might have more flexibility as to where to seek care.

               Once you have a “short-list” of possibilities, start calling the clinics for more information.  Ask about wait times, referrals, pre-treatment necessities, costs, and expectations.  Check out their websites and other materials explaining their services.  Some clinics even offer free informational sessions where you can meet the clinic staff and ask even more questions. 

            Next, take it a step further.  Ask if you can come in for a visit and talk to a doctor.  Not all clinics offer this, but if they do, it’s a great idea to see if you are comfortable with this clinic before you make your first appointment.  Above all else, you want to find a clinic that makes you feel at ease as soon as you walk through the door.  You want to know they enjoy having you as a patient, are interested in your overall well-being, and encourage you to be an active participant in your own healthcare.  A good doctor-patient relationship can have a huge impact on your success. 

            Take a look at your clinics experience and success rates.  You can access yearly fertility clinic reports by visiting www.cdc.gov/art or www.sart.org.  While these statistics are important, they are just one piece of the decision-making process and can sometimes be deceiving.  Don’t just look at pregnancy and take-home baby rates.  Pay attention to clinics that have had success treating people just like you—similar age, diagnosis, and situation.  If you are 45 looking for an egg donor, don’t go to a clinic that specializes in IVF for women under the age of 35.  Also, look for clinics that are ethical and well-trained.  In general, a good clinic will treat a wide range of patients, perform a respectable number of cycles (at least 50 IVFs per year), have a board-certified doctors and lab directors, be active in the infertility community, and abide by industry standards, such as transferring back only a limited number of embryos (usually an average of around two).  When in doubt, ask the clinic for clarifications.  Often, they will have more up-to-date and better detailed information. 

            Cost is another important factor to consider.  It’s never too early to ask about costs.  Ask for a basic price list for common procedures, such as IVF.  Determine exactly what is included in these costs.  Some clinics tell you upfront every charge you will incur.  Other clinics give you one amount at first, only to surprise you later with all the other necessary expenses, such as testing, monitoring, medications, and education.  Know what you can realistically afford and how much you are likely to spend at each clinic.

It is the primary goal of all clinics to recruit new patients.  As with everything, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.  Treating infertility is not an exact science.  What works for one family might not work for another.  Don’t get carried away with unrealistic hopes or false promises.  Be smart, remain objective, and ask good questions. 

With over 450 fertility clinics in the United States to choose from, there is a lot to consider.  The biggest mistake people make is to take this decision lightly.  Not all clinics are equal, and not all clinics are right for every patient.  Think carefully about what is best for you and your family.  If you end up at the wrong clinic, you will end up wasting a lot of precious time, energy, and money.  There is nothing worse than having to switch clinics in the middle of your treatment.  You are much better off doing your homework up front.

Evelina Weidman Sterling, PhD, MPH, CHES is the award-winning and best-selling author of several consumer health books focusing on infertility, including Budgeting for Infertility, Having Your Baby through Egg Donation, and Living with PCOS.  Evelina is also the CEO of My Fertility Plan (www.myfertilityplan.com) a consulting firm aimed at providing patients and professionals with a wide range of action-oriented information about reproductive health.