Review some of the common questions you should discuss with a fertility doctor or reproductive endocrinologist. In addition, are the treatments free of side effects? These are important factors to consider when using assisted reproductive technology.

1. Questions to Ask an Infertility Clinic
By Trudy Rorenson
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2. A patient who goes to an infertility clinic should come prepared
with a list of questions to ask the doctor upon their initial
consultation. Prepare yourself before your appointment, and
write down your questions so you don't forget to ask any of
them.
The more knowledge you can collect as a patient who is
experiencing infertility, the more comfortable you may feel
throughout the process and the less stress you might carry with
you throughout.
Stress can be a detriment to fertility, so reducing stress is often
important to couples going through this process. The following
are 9 questions to ask during your visit to an infertility clinic.
Ask what tests and examinations are going to be performed in
determining the cause of your infertility. Common male tests
include the semen analysis, while women are often subjected to
various tests and exams.
Ask what will be done if the cause of infertility is not clear.
Various fertility treatments may be performed in cases of
unexplained infertility, or when the cause of the problem cannot
be identified through the bests performed by the clinic.
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3. Ask which treatments are used at this facility, and which are
most common. Some clinics offer one or two procedures, while
others offer several procedures and various ancillary treatments
and services.
Ask who will be treating you. Will you receive treatment from a
large team of doctors so you see a new one every time, or will
you see a set of doctors and nurses with whom you become
familiar and develop a relationship over the course of the
treatment.
If going through IVF or other assisted reproductive
technologies, ask how many embryos are transferred. Many
limit the number of embryos transferred to reduce the chance of
multiple births.
If applicable, or if curious, ask about egg and donor sperm
programs available at the clinic or at other clinics.
Ask about counseling programs or other services designed to
cater to the emotional stress that many couples go through
during the process. Many offer ancillary treatments and services
designed to reduce stress and/or improve fertility.
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4. Ask if your insurance will cover the cost of treatment. Some
plans will cover infertility treatment, while others offer limited
coverage or no coverage.
Finally, ask if the clinic offers payment plans, especially if your
insurance does not cover the cost of treatment or only covers
some of it. Many clinics offer plans to help couples pay for
treatment.
Are There Possible Side Effects With Fertility Treatment?
Side effects are possible with most medical procedures and
treatments, including those designed to improve fertility or to
overcome infertility.
It's important that patients or couples understand the risks and
potential complications facing them when they pursue certain
procedures so they may make an informed decision whether to
receive treatment or not.
The consultation period with a fertility specialist before
receiving treatment is an essential step in understanding one's
condition as well as the treatment and its possible complications.
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5. The side effects present with fertility treatment depend largely
on the type of procedure that is performed. For instance, in vitro
fertilization (IVF) is one of the most common and well-known
treatments available.
The procedure may increase the chances of an ectopic
pregnancy, which is a condition in which the embryo implants in
the fallopian tubes instead of the uterus. Other forms of assisted
reproductive technology (ART) are used to help patients become
pregnant, too.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducted a study that
found that certain birth defects are two to four times more likely
in babies that are born using ART procedures. The risk is still
low, but it is important to discuss this possibility with the
fertility specialist before treatment.
Any fertility procedure or treatment in which multiple embryos
or eggs are produced may result in multiple pregnancies. To
reduce this risk, many specialists release only a select number of
embryos to the uterus, although this does not completely
eliminate the risk of multiple births.
Some countries even encourage women or couples to transfer
only one embryo per session, although this reduces the chances
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6. of success for each treatment session. Fertility medications may
also increase this risk, as these medications are designed to
increase egg production.
Fertility medicines may have other side effects, too. Some
women choose not to take fertility medications, while others
take them to increase their chances of success by boosting egg
production.
Many who undergo IVF and other procedures in which multiple
eggs are extracted choose to first stimulate egg production by
taking fertility medication.
The problem is complex in terms of ovarian cancer by the fact
that infertility alone is linked with an elevated danger, a program
director for the NYU Fertility Center Jamie Grifo, MD. states,
"If you diagnose infertile adult women with the common
population, they've an increased occurrence of ovarian cancer,
however not one that's brought on by IVF".
A considerable Danish report distributed through print media in
2009 discovered no connection between ovarian cancer and
fertility drugs.
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7. And while a Dutch report published in 2011 concluded that
wasn't a major disparity in statistics of invasive ovarian cancers
as women who had undergone IVF had a slightly greater danger
of "marginal ovarian tumors" (treatable growths which are
hardly ever lethal) in contrast with infertile adult women who
didn't bear the treatment.
Laurie McKenzie, MD, director at Houston IVF claims that
"IVF has been utilized for roughly 35 years. "If there was a
sizeable rise in ratios on account of these treatments, we would
have recognized it by now."
Make sure you discuss all of the potential side effects and
symptoms to watch for with the specialist before undergoing any
treatment or taking any fertility drug.
Review the following sites to find out more information on
advanced fertility procedures at a Ft-Lauderdale Infertility
Clinic and BostonIVF’s solutions in becoming pregnant,
becoming a parent, and general question regarding Fertility
Treatment in the USA.
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