Trying to get Pregnant? This Is What You Can Expect at Your First Fertility Clinic Appointment
You have decided to explore assisted reproductive techniques to get pregnant. This is possibly one of the biggest decisions that you’ve made in your life.
You have gone through the entire process of finalising your fertility partner for your journey towards parenthood.
It is your first day at the fertility clinic. You may feel slightly anxious, perhaps a little nervous and maybe even a tad bit excited.
There is really no guidebook that prepares you for this experience. You are not sure what to expect from this appointment. Or what questions to ask the specialist.
So let’s find out together.
Reviewing Your History
Generally, the first consultation with your fertility specialists lasts anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes. During this appointment, the consultant will go through your entire medical history with you.
You will be asked a number of questions specifically in reference to your medical and fertility history. This will also include your menstrual cycles if you experience pain during intercourse or not. The doctor will also want to know the period of time you have been actively trying to get pregnant, what was the frequency and timing of your intercourse, and so on.
If you have tried fertility treatment before, you should also disclose that to your doctor during this appointment.
It is advisable to ask your partner to accompany you during this first appointment. The specialist will be able to review his health and family medical history too.
Getting Evaluated
Your first appointment at the fertility clinic will soon be followed up by a fertility evaluation. This involves a transvaginal ultrasound. If you have not taken it even once before, you will feel a little vaginal pressure during the procedure. Generally, you do not really feel any pain.
So, is the transvaginal ultrasound recommended instead of an abdominal one?
The good news is that the transvaginal ultrasound can be performed at any time during your menstrual cycle.
The fertility specialist gets a more clear and more detailed view of the uterus and ovaries via the transvaginal ultrasound. This is an extremely important factor that helps to evaluate your fertility condition. By looking at the screening of your ovaries and uterus the specialist will be able to:
- Check your ovarian reserve or antral follicle count
Look for the presence of fibroids or polyps
Additional Diagnostic Testing
You will be required to undergo additional fertility testing during your first visit or in your follow-up visits to the clinic.
Lab work may include a number of blood tests that will help the fertility specialist to measure your reproductive hormone levels. The team will also be able to detect any out-of-range hormone levels that could possibly play a role in your past or future issues with conception.
Your fertility doctor may also order a hysterosalpingography (HSG – x-ray of your fallopian tubes and uterus). It checks for blockages of the tubes that can have an impact on achieving pregnancy.
Discussing Treatments Plans
During your first visit to the clinic, your fertility doctor will give you an overview of all possible treatment avenues available to you keeping in mind your personal health condition.
Do not shy away from getting the full story when it is a question of your treatment options at all. Ask the doctor about the timeline to pregnancy that you are potentially looking at. Compare it with the clinic’s average timeline. Do not hesitate to ask for psychological help during and after the treatment process.
Find out about the options of using donor sperms or eggs or embryos if indicated or needed.
Explore Potential Treatment Costs
Pursuing fertility treatment is an expensive undertaking. Moreover, the fees vary from clinic to clinic depending on the range of treatment being provided, medical condition and medications. The location of the clinic also acts as a contributor to the treatment cost. Typically, clinics based in metropolitan areas will have a higher cost in comparison to those located in tier 2 or tier 3 cities and towns.
Data suggests that the average cost of an IVF cycle in India can range anywhere between Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 2,50,000. Anyone opting for fertility treatment should also budget multiple cycles as the first IVF round may not always be successful.
Clinic Success Rates
Your goal of partnering with your fertility clinic is to achieve a successful pregnancy. Therefore, it is important to find out more about your chosen clinic’s success rates during your initial consultation. This can also be discussed from the point of view of various treatment routes so that you can set realistic expectations.
You should enquire about these key aspects that will help you gauge the clinic’s success rates:
- Pregnancy rates for someone in your age bracket and similar fertility diagnosis
- The embryology lab’s fertilisation rates, embryo development
- Pregnancy for embryo transfers for a similar age range as yours
Most importantly, ask the clinic about the safety measures that the clinic follows in order to prevent cryo-tank failures.
The Right Questions to Ask
Your first appointment is the ideal time to ask your doctor about how the clinic operates and find out more about how the treatment cycle is expected to pan out.
You can always have it written down beforehand to ensure that you do not miss out on asking about anything that you feel is important. The objective is to have a complete and clear understanding of the process so that there is no mismatch from the expectations point of view.
Need A Recommendation
Needless to say, IVF can be a long drawn journey. You may have to go through multiple attempts to achieve a healthy pregnancy Therefore, remaining patient and persistent is the key.
If you are based in and around Hyderabad, be sure to take a look at MotherToBe, a well-known fertility centre that is headed by Lead Clinician Dr Vyjayanthi. With a long and positive reputation in this field, Dr Vyjayanthi is assisted by a team of practised and senior clinicians and fertility specialists that ensures that your fertility treatment is a stress-free experience as much as possible.
Dr Vyjayanthi across her 18 years of practice has personally performed over 10,000 IVF cycles adhering to the highest standards of patient care. Seek the counsel of Dr Vyjayanthi’s expert team for a personalised approach to your fertility condition and let your journey to parenthood with an experienced clinical and embryology team.