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Choose a Clinic Wisely

All Fertility Clinics Are Not Created Equal

While there are plenty of IVF clinics to choose from, the playing field is by no means level. Rather, there is a wide spectrum among IVF clinics. Superior, top tier clinics clearly offer stronger diagnostic skills, more advanced laboratory technology, more refined clinical expertise, and better overall odds of having a baby. Before committing to a particular clinic for treatment, patients owe it to themselves to develop strong analytical skills that will permit them to make choices in an informed, logical, and discriminating manner.

The Traps

Unfortunately, many patients choose an IVF clinic using criteria that are questionable. When I was in treatment I too fell into this trap. These are some of the most common traps patients fall into:

Hearsay and Anecdotal Information

Often patients choose IVF clinics based exclusively on hearsay and anecdotal information. They know someone who had success at a particular program or heard about a doctor there who is "good." It is important to investigate the experiences of other patients who have accessed a clinic you are considering. However, many make the mistake of finding sufficient encouragement in anecdotal stories and conduct scant research about a program beyond that.

The Referral of a General Practitioner or Gynaecologist

Some patients choose an IVF program based exclusively on the referral of a GP or gynaecologist. Often such referrals are also based on hearsay and anecdotal information, or sometimes on casual professional acquaintances. It is important that patients realize that some General Practitioners and gynaecologists have not personally researched the world of IVF in great depth, and are often not in a position to make optimal recommendations.

Geographic Proximity and Lower Cost

Some patients choose an IVF program because it is close to their home or place of work. Many also choose an IVF program because it is less expensive than others. While there is no question that the IVF process makes terrible demands on our time and money, if it is at all possible patients should avoid choosing an IVF program based on geographic proximity or lower cost alone. Such a plan is unlikely to be cost effective or preserve you emotionally or physically if the clinic offers poor odds of success and you have the misfortune of experiencing multiple failures there. Choices based on geographic proximity and lower cost often lead to increased financial hardship and emotional and physical exhaustion.

Chemistry With a Particular Doctor

Many patients choose an IVF clinic because of their "chemistry" with a particular doctor at that clinic. There is no doubt that a warm relationship with a compassionate doctor is a very helpful stress reducer during the IVF experience. Nonetheless a warm and compassionate doctor who is constrained by the limitations of an inferior IVF clinic will not have the power to protect you from the heartache and despair of experiencing failure at that clinic. Patients should first focus on the clinic, choose one for the right reasons, and then choose a doctor at that clinic with whom they are comfortable. First and foremost seek the help of a doctor who above all else offers exemplary clinical expertise at a superior IVF clinic. Excellent personal chemistry with a doctor is a very wonderful and welcome bonus.

The Consequences

Unfortunately, many of my clients have chosen inferior IVF clinics having fallen into one or more of the traps outlined above. By the time their paths cross mine, they have often experienced multiple IVF failures. These are some of the consequences of their poorly made choices:

Exhaustion of Financial Resources

Some patients spin their wheels far too long at an inferior clinic, exhausting their financial resources, and/or emotional strength, only to find that they are no longer able to proceed with treatment. Those who exhaust themselves financially also unwittingly close the door to alternative means of building their families such as egg donation or adoption as they too require considerable financial resources.

Irretrievable Loss of the Window of Reproductive Opportunity

Others find that the most precious years of the female partner's reproductive life have been lost. By the time they become aware of options that may have significantly increased their odds of achieving success, the woman is of advanced age and her reproductive potential is diminished.

Reliance on the Advice of Clinics That Are Constrained By Their Own Limitations

Some patients are counselled to pursue alternative means of building their families, not because IVF will never work for them, but simply because it has not worked for them at a clinic that is constrained by its own limitations. Many of these couples innocently follow the recommendation believing erroneously that all IVF clinics are created equal.

Reliance on the Advice of Clinics That Have Particularly Rigid Entry Criteria

Some patients are counselled to pursue alternative means of building their families by clinics with particularly rigid entry criteria. What they often do not realize is that had they tried to gain admittance to an IVF clinic that accepted more challenging cases they would easily have done so.

Sadly, many of these patients would have had success with IVF had they been better informed.

How Rhonda Levy Can Help You Avoid the Traps and Their Consequences

Many physician do not spend enough time fully educating patients about their treatment options. Even those physicians who feel they have an obligation to provide full and complete information to their patients are constrained by high patient volumes, and unfortunately their time with each patient is limited.

When a physician does take the time to provide information to his/her patients the information is generally limited to the clinical and technological offerings at his or her particular clinic. When you consult with a physician at an IVF clinic you will typically learn about what that particular clinic can offer you. Most IVF clinics feel tremendous pressure in a fiercely competitive marketplace, and they have a vested interest in promoting themselves to the patients who consult with them. It is extremely rare for a patient to be referred by one IVF clinic to another in recognition of the fact that the second clinic offers better clinical expertise, more advanced laboratory technology, entry criteria that the female partner might be better able to satisfy, or overall better odds.

There is a great deal of information available on the Internet and in books, but it is extremely difficult for even the most sophisticated among us to synthesize this information, and develop the analytical insights that would make a fully educated choice possible. The acquisition of this level of understanding would require an enormous commitment of time and energy, and those facing the daunting world of IVF generally have neither. The stress of infertility is overwhelming and emotionally draining, and most couples need to access treatment quickly in an effort to keep time on their side.

As an Infertility Consultant, I am conflict of interest free. I am completely independent and have no affiliation with any fertility clinics or agencies. My only goal is to ensure that you choose an IVF clinic that is well suited to your needs, and that will increase your odds of having a child. I have thoroughly researched the IVF landscape in the United States, and in order to save you time, money, and heartache, I will provide you with insight, analysis, and crucial information.