EP #10 -Top 10 Questions to Ask Your IVF Doctor
[00:00:00] Tanja: Hello and welcome back to my show, Your Fertility Counsellor. I'm Tanja Faessler and I'm so passionate about sharing 10 questions that you should ask your IVF doctor. Now, before we dive into more detail about these questions, it’s really important to understand why preparation and communication is so key. So, when you are on this IVF journey, it's absolutely essential to build a dream team around you. So, with dream team, I mean you and your partner, but also to really carefully select which clinic, which doctor you want to go and who else you need to bring into your dream team to make magic happen.
[00:01:33] Because when you create your dream team, this is when I see couples let go. Suddenly they feel relaxed because they know they have chosen the right people in their team. They know they are being supported by all these professionals and experts. And that's when I see that they can truly, truly let go. So, today is all about asking the right questions and creating that dream team for you.
[00:02:06] So, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to prepare and to communicate. So, to the point that I usually say, make a meeting with your partner and really discuss and agree on the points that you want to bring up with your doctor at the next appointment. And sometimes it's even about like going really into your laptop and writing down all those questions that you have.
[00:02:39] And yes, I know there is a difference between some doctors they like to discuss questions that you might have and some doctors become very defensive. If you happen to have such a doctor, it might even be wise to actually send your questions ahead of your appointment via email so that your doctor knows what to expect and can prepare for it.
[00:03:05] For some doctors, when they see that there are many, many questions coming up, they actually like to slot you in in the last appointment of the day, just so that they have enough time for you. And that's a very, very kind and wise movement of them, because it just means that they care - care for your questions and care for your well-being and take you serious on what you bring to the table. So, if you get the last appointment, it's usually actually a really good sign that your doctor cares about you.
[00:03:43] But these questions that I'm going to share with you today is actually not the follow up meeting, but we are focusing on your first meeting. So, put yourself into a position where you have maybe decided already you want to do an IVF program, or you are still contemplating about whether or not you should pursue an IVF program. So, it's wise to sometimes schedule a meeting with two or three different IVF doctors to find out who would be the right match. And why is that so important? It's important to find the right person that has the medical specialist knowledge that will be at your side for the next couple of months.
[00:04:33] You will spend quite a few meetings with that doctor. You will undergo procedure with that doctor and you will spend a lot of money for that IVF program. Maybe you are in a country where your IVF program is subsidized and paid by the government or by some insurance company. Or maybe you are in a country where you have to pay all the bills of an IVF program out of your own pocket. So, the range can be incredibly wide of those costs - the clear costs, the transparent costs, as well as the hidden costs that are involved in an IVF program.
[00:05:17] More so, it's important to really, really get to know all about it in your first meeting so that when you get out of that meeting, you have a really clear picture of the clinic as well as of your doctor, as well as of the costs that are involved. So, let's start right into the set of questions that I have prepared for you today and that I'm happy to share with you.
[00:05:47] So, first of all, I think you want to know more about the medical expertise and approach of your doctor. So, it's really about getting to know like his or her experience with cases like yours. And I'm saying cases like yours because maybe you got a clear medical indication already and know what's holding you back to get pregnant naturally. Or maybe it's more like a question of age, of diagnosis, or past IVF history that you got. So, this is like somewhere where you really want to get to know your doctor's experience and how he or she can actually help with your case.
[00:06:31] The other medical expertise that you want to find out is what the clinic success rate is. Now, an interesting point here is that some clinics would actually put their success rates on their website. But when you look at the data of these success rates, I highly suggest for you to put a benchmark to it. Some clinics, they would distinguish by age, groups, or they would also distinguish by a so called pregnancy hormone detection, which is the HCG, pregnancy hormone that is being detected after two weeks of doing the blood test results. And some of them would actually really go by the live birth or by the first trimester.
[00:07:22] So, when you look at statistics, always, always compare apples with apples. Be careful not to compare apples with pears because you will get different data into it. And also, your clinic should actually be able to present you with the newest available data. So, I can tell you that and each clinic is tracking clearly the success rates behind the scenes. So, we are now in 2025, and if you're going to meet up with your doctor in the next couple of weeks, your doctor should be able to present you the 2024 success rates that they had clearly - they would have it on hand. And if their website is showing data from 2021 or 2017 that's clearly outdated success rates and they should be able to present you with updated data. So, this would be like more on the medical expertise and approach.
[00:08:35] The next item block would be the personalized treatment plan. So, there are clinics who actually don't personalize much their IVF program but tell you that they do so. So, here it's really about to find out how can they actually deliver an IVF process or an IVF program that is customized to your specific needs. So, we want to find out more about like how do they adjust hormones when you go into the hormone stimulation phase, how many appointments will you have and what else will they do before you actually start your IVF treatment. And the other one is also on which kind of fertility tests do they recommend before starting your IVF program. Again, there are different approaches here for clinics to do that, and that's another interesting point to find out.
[00:09:37] Another item block is the embryo and lab related considerations, of course. So, there are clinics who clearly go for fresh embryo transfers only, and there are others who would go only with frozen embryo transfers. Now, here it will be quite interesting to see what their latest research is and how that fits with your personal medical history.
[00:10:05] So, at the end, we want to see like how they are able actually to customize their approach to your needs and make this a success story. And then of course, what are their laboratory success rates with embryo development and freezing? Is this a lab that cultivates embryo until day two or a day three, or is this a lab that actually pushes all the way through to day five, which is usually the maximum cultivation outside the womb. So, we want to find out how they cultivate these embryos and to which they are doing so.
[00:10:49] And then there is another very important block which is called the ethical and emotional support. So, you may want to find out how the clinic actually supports their patients emotionally throughout the process. Is there any counselling being offered as a standardized service being included in your IVF program? Or is there any mind-body support included into it? Because there are sometimes rough patches in an IVF program. And many of our clients actually, experience an IVF program being much more a steeper roller coaster than a usual fertility journey, which already can seem a roller coaster.
[00:11:38] So, going through an IVF program, you want to be mentally, emotionally really in a good place. And if it gets rough, you want to know whether this clinic is actually providing any emotional support.
[00:11:54] Another question that you could maybe ask your clinic is also how they handle cases where multiple embryos are viable. What do they do with embryo selection and how they can support you in an embryo selection? Any ethical considerations that are important to know.
[00:12:14] And the last block with your questions number nine and ten, are in the logistics and the costs. So really like getting a detailed breakdown of the costs, including medications and any unexpected fees will be absolutely helpful because you just want to avoid any financial surprises when you enter into an IVF program.
[00:12:40] And the last question is how accessible is the doctor during your treatment and how do you communicate with the clinic and your doctor. How are you getting updates about your embryos, for example. And how can you reach them best - via emails, calls, or any emergency visits or questions that you may have to ease your anxiety.
[00:13:08] So, taking time to actually discuss these questions to really feel empowered to make informed decisions about your own IVF journey. This is your IVF journey and you should be the owner of this IVF journey. Yes, we agree that you have medical specialists at your side that are wonderful people with a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge. And we all hope that with these questions you can select the right doctor to bring into your dream team and make this a magic journey for you.
[00:13:47] So, if you have any need of us answering further questions to your IVF program, please reach out to us and let us know. We are curious to know what else can be helpful to you. Thank you for listening in and sharing this session with a wonderful friend of yours that might be considering going into an IVF program anytime soon. This can be truly a game changer for many couples. Thank you and have a wonderful day. I can't wait to hear from you how it all went. Bye and see you next week!
