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If youre having difficulty conceiving, at some point you probably will want to gather facts about fertility and about your body. In gathering facts, you will be better able to decide whether or not your concerns are justified and, most importantly, what you can do to remove obstacles to pregnancy. The medical world defines infertility as one year of unsuccessful effort or, for women thirty-five and over, six months of unsuccessful effort. This is important to you in a couple of ways. First, if youre very worried and have been trying for a much shorter time than one year (or six months if youre over thirty-five), you most certainly have no need to be concerned yet. The official definition of infertility also may be important to you if youre counting on insurance reimbursement for your care, since many insurance companies will not reimburse some infertility-related procedures unless your attempts to become pregnant have been
unsuccessful for a year (or six months if youre over thirty-five). This may or may not affect some of your early choices, but its best to be aware of it and talk to your insurance company before you seek treatment. This chapter outlines what to consider when choosing a fertility specialist. It will help you know what to expect if you go to a specialist and give you tools to organize and track your experience. The Taking Charge section focuses on journaling, a practice that can ease emotions and decrease the stress that can be associated with medical treatment.
Procedures Offered
The websites for different medical practices usually include what procedures the practices offer. If you need additional information about a particular doctor or medical practice, someone in the office should be able to answer your questions.
Doctors Experience
As you choose a doctor, consider the doctors background, including educational and training background. How long has this doctor been in practice? Does the doctor have any special areas of expertise that might be important to you?
Affordability
Expenses will vary between medical practices, as will financial policies. Some practices may not be covered under your insurance (note that you should check to see if your health insurance covers infertility treatments). Some practices offer special packages or money back to some populations if treatments are unsuccessful. There may be a financial counselor on staff who can help you understand your options.
Nonmedical Services
Some medical practices offer onsite counseling, mind-body programs, and, as noted above, fertilityrelated financial counseling. These services may or may not be important to you. Many of these services can also be found outside of fertility practices. You may value having all these resources in one place or prefer to seek nonmedical support elsewhere.
Geographical Proximity
Fertility treatments can involve many visits to an office or clinic, and its important to consider how accessible a specialist will be to you. Spending more travel time than necessary can add to your stress. If two clinics are similar in other ways, think about choosing the one thats easier for you to get to.
Size of Practice
Some medical practices consist of just a doctor or two, while others are very large. You may prefer a larger practice, where several doctors can back up one another, or a smaller, more intimate setting. If you choose a large practice, you will want to know if youll be seeing the same doctor each time or not.
will the doctor decide? Some doctors have a policy of transferring a greater number of embryos than others. This may be an important consideration for you, since a higher number of embryos transferred can increase your chance of multiple births.
Being aware of your priorities will help focus your search for the best specialist for you.
After you understand your priorities, you can begin doing your research. You may want to record your findings as you look into different medical practices or clinics specializing in infertility treatment.
Doctors experience: Affordability: Nonmedical services: Location: Size: Medical policies: Other considerations or impressions:
Based on your research and your priorities, you should be able to choose the fertility practice or clinic that best meets your needs.