Choosing a fertility clinic is a serious decision. The clinic you choose should be comfortable and welcoming for you and your spouse, as well as open to answering any questions you may have. Additionally, the clinic should be staffed with experienced, licensed nurses and physicians. Prior to choosing a fertility clinic, consider the following issues.
Experience in the Field
One of the most important aspects of any clinic should be the amount of experience it has with fertility procedures. However, this does not mean that an older clinic is necessarily better. What matters when it comes to experience is the number of successful fertility procedures the doctor and the clinic as a whole has performed. To determine this, inquire into the clinic’s pregnancy success rate. The higher the rate of success, the more experience the clinic typically has.
Your Comfort
The single most important aspect of any fertility clinic is how comfortable you are with the clinic. Fertility issues are extremely private and can sometimes require patients to participate in invasive and embarrassing conversations and procedures. You and your spouse should be at ease in every room of the clinic. You should also be comfortable with the physicians and nurses working in the clinic. Not being comfortable with a specific nurse or physician could make you reluctant to discuss an issue, which could delay your treatment. Depending on the size of the clinic, you may not need to be comfortable with each clinic employee. If you can avoid or request not to work with a specific nurse or physician, you may still be able to use that clinic.
Which Doctor You Will See
Another important consideration when choosing a fertility clinic is whether you will see one or multiple doctors, and how that determination is made. Some clinics will schedule a patient with a different doctor each time. While this is not necessarily a bad procedure, it may require you to repeat your issues several times and cause some confusion about your next treatments. A small clinic with only one or two doctors may be less problematic than a large clinic with 10 or more fertility specialists.
The Clinic’s Convenience
Fertility patients need to visit their specialist frequently. As such, the clinic you choose should be within a good driving distance and have appointment hours that fit your schedule. A clinic that is too difficult to get to or that cannot accommodate your schedule may not be the best clinic for you.
The Clinic’s Personality
Even though it is not a person, each clinic has a personality. This personality derives from the personality of its staff. The staff’s kindness, compassion and professionalism will create the clinic’s atmosphere. To determine a clinic’s personality, see how you feel when you enter and how comfortable the other patients seem.
Do not choose a fertility clinic because it is supposedly the best or the most prominent in the area. Choose the clinic that makes you feel comfortable and that employs the staff that you enjoy working with.
