The Most Important Factor When Choosing Your Fertility Clinic

I know right now it seems like the most important factor when choosing your fertility clinic is when you can get an appointment. Post covid, the waits for clinics can be months long, I’ve heard even up to eight! And I know when you are trying so desperately to get pregnant that is an eternity!

What is important?

Numbers and success rates are also very important. I am a person that wants the facts, and I want things to be research based so percentages and known outcomes are always things I look at and value.

But the most important thing when picking your clinic is that you feel comfortable and confident with your doctor. I believe this is true no matter what kind of doctor you are seeing, but especially fertility doctors (officially Reproductive Endocrinologists).

Choosing Our Fertility Clinic

When we first got referred to a fertility clinic, we went to a very prestigious university. I was so confident that we were going to the best of the best. And I’m not saying they’re not. However they were definitely not the clinic for us. I NEVER felt confident that our treatment was going to work. And I never felt truly supported by them.

I am not one of those people that believe that all of your fertility issues can be solved with a positive mindset, however I do think that it is a component. It is such a stressful experience, so being with a doctor and clinic that you trust goes a long way to decreasing your stress.

We did one IUI with them (you can read our story here) and then moved to a different clinic. Right away I felt more at ease. From day one Levi and I both felt like the whole clinic was on our team and rooting for us.

I feel like one of the biggest differences was how they presented our diagnosis. Our second clinic, Northern California Fertility Medical Center, was so much more optimistic from the start. It was more along the lines of yes, this is a problem but here is our plan. I no longer felt like my diagnosis was an impossible one.

Other Things to Consider

Another very important thing is that your doctor speaks to you in a way you understand. I am a nurse, and I appreciated it when the doctor explained things in more medical terms. Levi likes to say he “digs dirt for a living”, and our doctor always made sure that he understood and was comfortable with what we were doing as well.

Even though right now it may seem like you have to go with the first clinic you can get into, if you don’t feel like you are getting the support you need, please find a clinic that makes you feel confident that you will be successful.

In my opinion, the most important factor when choosing your fertility clinic is your confidence in your team. You want to feel like you’ve got a team behind you, that everyone is pulling for you, that your team truly cares about you. It’s about finding that fit for your family, and I know that there is “that” doctor for everyone. Just like anything else in life, you deserve the best, don’t settle!

This is hard, but we’ve got this!

xx,

Mollie

*I also really liked Dr. Wood at Get 5 Fertility in San Diego, who we recently saw to discuss ovarian rejuvenation *