When is it time to go and see a fertility doctor? This is one question which can bother women who have been trying for a long time to conceive with no positive result. If you are under 35 years of age and trying to have a baby, and not using birth control pills for more than a year, it is time to visit a specialist.
An infertility specialist is someone who will make you undergo a series of tests and evaluations to see why you have not been able to conceive naturally. But, before you check yourself into a fertility clinic, there are some important things that you need to be aware of:
- The doctor will want to know if you ovulate on a regular basis. To be able to answer this, you can chart your BBT or Basal Body Temperature for a few months at least before meeting the doctor.
- The doctor, on meeting you, will also scan your medical history to decide which fertility tests are suited for you and your partner. So, you may have to undergo blood tests and ultrasound examinations for the doctor to view your uterus lining and for detecting fibroids and cysts which are common causes for infertility. For men, there are other tests where the sperm count will be assessed. Only after the tests are done can your infertility specialist recommend a course of treatment to increase your chances of conception.
- Before you visit a fertility clinic for treatment you must understand that you will be prescribed medications for stimulating ovulation and each of these drugs has potential side-effects. It is the doctor’s duty to keep you well-informed about any side effects so that you know what to expect.
- The cost of fertility treatment is always steep, especially when you decide to opt for IVF. While the numbers may vary slightly from once fertility clinic to another, the cost is definitely not affordable. But there are options like financial plans which you can avail of to get loans for treatment.
- Success rates claimed by clinics are always confusing. There may be some which have very high success rate but this might have been possible because they prefer to take up only the less-complicated cases. Those with lower success rate may well be those which choose to handle the harder cases. So, it is advisable to check for the qualifications and experience of the infertility specialist instead of going by the success rate.
- While a fertility clinic can change a number of things about your biological conditions, it cannot reverse your age. Biology clearly tells us that ovarian reserve of eggs falls as you grow older, and fertility potential correspondingly declines in both women and men. While conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis can be tempered, these cannot be completely eliminated. However, a capable and experienced team of experts in a reputed clinic can definitely increase the chances of success of conception.
- Doctors need to keep themselves abreast of all new technological advancements in their fields of study. So, when you plan to visit a fertility clinic it is important to know first whether your doctor is one who adapts to new techniques and methods of treatment. Every fertility clinic is unique and you should consider this factor before you go to one. You need to know whether the clinic has provisions for conducting genetic testing, it has a research staff, there is an IVF lab, etc.
