The first visit to a fertility clinic is an important step in the journey to parenthood. It’s a chance to discuss your fertility goals and learn about the various options available, including medication, intrauterine insemination (IUI), and in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Your provider can help you estimate the costs of common fertility treatments, and answer any questions you may have. This is also a good time to find out if your insurance plan has fertility coverage, and how it works. If it does, ask about the limits of your coverage — whether it’s a dollar amount per cycle or lifetime limit — and the requirements you will need to meet in order to use the benefit.
Fertility treatment can be expensive, and many people need multiple cycles to achieve their goal of becoming pregnant. Some clinics have financing programs, payment plans, or money-back guarantees, so make sure to consider all these options when choosing a facility.
During the IVF process, you will take injectable hormone medications to encourage the development of follicles that contain eggs inside each ovary. The type, dosage and frequency of the drugs will be tailored to you based on your medical history, age and AMH (anti-mullerian hormone) levels.
Some clinics will let you choose your own egg donor or gestational carrier, which can significantly reduce your costs. However, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine requires that known donors undergo a medical screening and psychological evaluation.
