There are lots of factors to consider when you’re choosing a clinic, and ultimately, you’ll decide which factors are most important to you. In this document, we’re laying out what to think about as you go through the clinic selection process. 

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Quick plug before we get started: Gaia partners with clinics that we vet based on member experience, success rates, and quality of care, so that our Members feel confident every step of the way.

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Vocab note: Some clinics have smaller satellite locations, which means you can have day-to-day appointments there, but you’ll need to travel to a different location for some procedures, like an egg retrieval or anything that requires anesthesia. Ask your clinic if you’ll need to travel or can have everything done in-house. 

Factors to consider when you’re choosing a clinic

Treatments offered 

Make sure the clinic offers the specific treatment you need. If your clinic is a satellite location, you might need to travel to another clinic in the practice for some procedures.

Depending on your needs, you might also need to work with other third parties, like an egg or sperm bank. ‍‍

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Questions to ask your clinic: Can I have all my treatment done here, or do I need to go to another location for some procedures?

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(If needed) Do you have an egg/sperm bank you work with?

Location 

Between consultations and monitoring appointments leading up to an egg retrieval, you’ll visit the clinic 10 times or more. Most visits happen in the morning before work. Consider a location that’s convenient, easy to get to, and not too far from work or home. 

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Questions to ask yourself: If you work away from home, would you rather have treatment closer to home or work? Is the clinic easily accessible in rush hour traffic?

Success rates

It’s hard to figure out which clinic has the best success rate. There’s a reason: clinics use lots of different metrics to measure success, like pregnancies, live births, cycles, and embryo transfers. Our take: Compare live births out of the total number of embryo transfers, because that’ll show you how many attempts at a live birth actually produced a child. For the best apples-to-apples comparison, visit the CDC’s assisted reproductive technology reporting. Type in your ZIP Code and look at the clinics’ results to get an idea of how they compare. ‍

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Questions to ask your clinic: How do you measure success rates here? Where does the clinic do the best, and where do other clinics outperform you? Where have you gotten better over the past few years?

Cost

Different clinics charge different prices for IVF depending on their size, location, and competition. There’s always a tradeoff, too — if you live in a smaller city, you might pay less overall, but you might have fewer options for clinics. Clinics in big cities have higher costs to offset rent, staffing, and needing several locations to accommodate their patients. ‍

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Questions to ask your clinic’s financial department: Will my insurance cover my treatment — some, completely, or not at all? If you won’t be covered, how much is a cycle? How is medication paid for? Are there any unexpected costs I should know about? 

Patient experience

Reviews are incredibly helpful, helping you see the other side of the success rates you’ve read on the CDC’s site. As you can imagine, people whose treatment didn’t result in a child can be negative in their overall impression, so consider each review carefully. For thoughtful, detailed patient reviews that include demographics about each reviewer, check out Fertility IQ’s doctor ratings.‍

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Questions to ask yourself: Out of these reviews, which ones are the most critical and the most positive? Do they have merit? Do you feel comfortable moving forward with the clinic given what you’ve read?

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(You can also absolutely mention negative reviews at the clinic. The response may tell you all you need to know!) 

Waiting times 

Waiting is such a drag, and there’s a lot of waiting in fertility treatment. Many clinics have first-come-first-serve monitoring appointments in the mornings, and you’ll likely have to wait in the lobby or waiting room before being seen. If you have a time-sensitive job that requires you to be at work at a specific time, plan to get to the clinic early. Even beyond the day-to-day waiting, your ideal clinic might have a waitlist. If you can be flexible about when you want to start treatment, you may have more clinic options. 

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Interesting fact: There’s a seasonality to fertility treatment. The summer is a slow season — some clinics even close for a few weeks to do facility upgrades and give the staff a summer break. Clinics are usually very busy in October because people want to finish treatment before the holidays.‍

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Questions to ask your clinic: When is the morning rush? Should I try to come before or after it? How long do people generally wait before being seen? Do I have to wait to start IVF, or can I start whenever I want? 

Bedside manner 

Consider your doctor and support staff’s personality, communication style, education, and credentials. You’ll be spending a lot of time together throughout treatment, so you want to choose people you like to be around.‍

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Questions to ask yourself: Are your doctor and nursing staff responsive to you? Do they make time for you? How often do you get to see the doctor vs. the nurses?

Advice from someone who's been through it

"Nobody — and no clinic — is perfect. If you’re comparing a few clinics, make a list of pros, cons, and what you’re flexible about. The biggest plus for me was seeing how my doctor and his staff interacted — they laughed a lot together, talked about life outside of the clinic, and included me in their day-to-day chats. It genuinely makes a difference when you feel welcome."-Nat, 39‍

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