As infertility is a very sensitive topic, your priority should be to choose a gynaecologist which you can really relate to and feel comfortable with as you will need to fully trust that this gynaecologist will be supporting you during the whole IVF process and will have your best interest at heart. For some patients, this trust and relationship may take a few visits to develop while for others they just hit it off straight away.
The experience and reputation of the gynaecologist may play a part in helping women decide just as the staff professionalism and clinic environment are also important. But if the clinic is very busy and the staff and gynaecologist always seem very rushed and are not able to answer all your questions and concerns satisfactorily, then this maybe is not be the gynaecologist for you.
Patients who go through IVF tend to have a bit of anxiety and apprehension. It is up to the gynaecologist and staff to address these so that you should never feel that you are just another "number" or ordinary patient in the clinic. After all, IVF treatments are individualized and there is no one size fit all.
Pregnancy Success Rate
Another consideration is the pregnancy success rate that the gynaecologist quotes. As a whole, the average success rate is 25% but this varies with the age of the woman.
For example as a guide:
- 30-35% < 35 yrs old
- 25% 35-37 yrs old
- 15-20% 38-40 yrs old
- 8-10% 40-44 yrs old
- and 1% or less > 45 yrs old
Patients should be weary or think twice before choosing fertility clinics or the gynaecologist who seem to quote success rates which are significantly better than the average though. This may not reflect their actual results or they may be selective treating younger "infertile" patients rather than treating all types of infertility patients as a whole.
Finally, IVF is not cheap so patients should be prepared for this. If a couple is not financially able to pay for IVF treatment, there may be other cheaper alternative fertility treatments that the gynaecologist can suggest provided you meet the selection criteria.
