Billings Clinic Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Care

The clinic is just as amazing as the doctors and nurses! Everyone was welcoming and willing to answer questions. The facilities were updated and very clean! I was surprised that they remembered my husband and I and were able to greet us by name even though we had only met the receptionists twice.

Dr. Shomento and her team of nurses were phenomenal! There was not a single time that I felt like a "number." Everyone was so supportive and positive while maintaining a realistic approach to treatment. Dr. Shomento was available 24/7 through all treatments to answer questions (even silly ones!) and provide details on what was happening with my body. When our first FET ended in a miscarriage she was the first person to call and send her condolences and give me a pep talk about how we would move forward. She continued to tell us that we WOULD have a baby, and that it was not a matter of if, but a matter of when. I felt like she was invested in treating my infertility and our dream of starting a family.

Jess, and all of the staff at Dr. Shomento's clinic including the financial advisor, were amazing! They made this very difficult and scary time much easier and always put my mind at ease. I was in communication with someone from their office almost every day for nearly 3 years and they worked hard to maintain a positive attitude and relationship the entire time. Jess is hilarious and is a breath of fresh air with her comedic view on infertility. The other Jess (there are 3 I believe!) also went through IVF so it was nice to get advice and hear tips/tricks to make the process easier.

Dr. Shomento is the best! She was thorough and extremely personable through the entire process. I never doubted her ability or decisions as she is very knowledgable and up to date on the latest studies regarding infertility.

See her as soon as you can! Dr. Shomento restored our hope for a baby when we were about to give up. Also, stay organized! The appointments and medications can seem overwhelming. Utilize pill organizers, reminders on your phone, and a good calendar to help keep everything on track.

Treatment began with an HSG and blood work to see if there was a simple reason why we had not conceived...everything came back normal. 4 IUIs using Letrozole...we are young and this was the least invasive, best first step...no luck. Laprascopic surgery to look for endometriosis...I was having all of the tell-tale signs of endometriosis and it would explain why our IUIs were unsuccessful...no endometriosis found so we talked about our next steps, IVF. IVF Cycle begins! I responded too well to the injectable medications...we got 48 mature eggs but I also developed Ovarian Hyperstimulation. Our cycle turned into a freeze-all cycle due to the over stimulation. Dr. Shomento used ICSI and we got 7 beautiful embryos to freeze at day 5. Frozen Embryo Transfer #1 (May)...we got pregnant, but found out that the embryo did not develop properly and there was no heartbeat detected...ended in miscarriage. Frozen Embryo Transfer #2 (September)...we got pregnant and now have a beautiful baby girl!

Insurance mostly covered infertility treatments and medications...we have spent about $25,000 out of pocket for odds and ends that were not covered, and to meet out of pocket maximums.

Dr. Shomento recommended a single embryo transfer because of the high quality of our embryos and my age (which is on the "younger" end of patients doing IVF). We are so glad that we took her advice and only transferred a single embryo as I do not think my body would handle multiples very well.

Very friendly staff, good communication, for the most part. Just make sure to ask lots of questions. They do their best to provide as much information as possible, but I'm sure it is difficult to provide information on all the aspects of fertility treatment since there is so much variation from person to person. They are good at responding to emails and voicemails within the same day, but don't always expect to be able to speak with someone right away unless it is urgent.

Dr. Shomento is very caring and thorough, willing to answer any questions and makes herself as available as possible. Her nursing staff is excellent too! I have nothing but good things to say about all of them!

Jessica was so pleasant to work with! She is easy-going and likes to laugh. She is very compassionate and caring.

I have been so grateful at Dr. Shomento's willingness to explain everything. I tend to ask a lot of questions and she never made me feel like I was asking too much or that they were stupid questions in any way shape or form. She has been very compassionate and understanding. I have felt comfortable with her from day one. I especially loved the fact that, on the night of my trigger shot, she gave me her cell phone number to call if I had any questions or concerns... My trigger shot was at midnight. I ended up having a concern and she promptly responded. I felt bad for contacting her so late at night, but she did not make me feel like I was interrupting anything (ie sleep). She was super helpful and made me feel good about contacting her with my concerns. How many doctors are willing to do that?!

Just be open and honest with her every step of the way. She is not judgemental and is a wonderful doctor to work with. She is very caring and compassionate.

We started with a plan to do IUI with the assistance of fertility drugs, after a consultation with Dr. Shomento. Although she did not do the IUI (another doctor in her office did) Dr. Shomento was there for guidance. After the IUI did not work, we took some time off from trying to conceive to assess what our next step was. Dr. Shomento stated that, if we really wanted to, we could continue with IUI, however, statistics did not show any improved chances with our type of infertility. The ball was left in our court to decided if we wanted to proceed to IVF. When we decided to move forward with IVF, Dr. Shomento put me on a birth control pill to regulate my cycles and Metformin to help improve egg quality. Once we began the IVF treatment, she adjusted my medications, as needed, based on my hormone levels. We will know more in 2 weeks whether or not this all worked. The retrieval has been completed and we will be doing the transfer in the next few days.....

The IVF treatment was separate from the fertility drugs. They offer a package price for all of the IVF treatment rather than billing each individual process separately.

Dr. Shomento left the decision to us. She presented the pros and cons of each choice base on my age, etc.

Honestly, for being the only IVF clinic for hundreds of miles, they do an amazing job. They are informed on all new technology, the embryologist flew in from NY, and he was AMAZING. He was so nice. I just thoroughly enjoyed the entire clinic. Even the nurses in the “surgery center” were great!

She made me feel informed and she made it as pleasant as possible for someone being 25 with pretty much no egg reserve.

I absolutely LOVED our nurses. We had Zoey and Julia (and also Darcy, but I only talked to her on the phone but she was amazing too.) Zoey and Julia took amazing care of us. I wish I could talk to them daily, that’s how close I felt with them. The gave me their personal numbers so I could text or call them with questions, I would email them CONSTANTLY. I was probably so annoying with so many questions and concerns and if I took a shot a few minutes late if I was going to be okay, etc. They were just so amazing. They both deserve awards for being such amazing nurses. Dr. Milroy, Zoey and Julia kept both my husband and I sane. And I love them so much.

Dr. Milroy was amazing. Through the entire process she made me feel “safe”. If that makes sense. Being 25 and going through this process, pretty much knowing that you have no chance of having a good outcome. But having Dr. Milroy tell me how good my eggs were responding to the meds and how great I was doing with the shots and being so informed on what I was doing, it made life so much easier. Our life was absolutely shattered when we found out I had premature ovarian failure. All I’ve ever wanted is to be a mom. I babysat all through high school/college because I love kids. Dr. Milroy understood that. She sympathized with that, even though she never had to go through any of this. She made this horrible, draining process so much better. Even when my eggs didn’t make it to the end (all arrested on day 6) she made me feel as if it was not my fault (even though every woman going through this knows that is EXACTLY how you feel; that it’s your fault.) She gave me a box of tissues and told me I did everything perfectly, even when I felt like I didn’t. She said she was proud of me, even when I was absolutely defeated and a wits end with myself and my failing body. She made me feel that I could try again, even if it wasn’t with my own eggs. She gave me all of the information without making me feel like an idiot. I knew what happened to my eggs, but she informed me anyways, in the easiest, least painful way possible. I would recommend her to anyone and everyone I could. Even though this process was something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, I am glad I enjoyed the people who took care of me, including Dr. Milroy.

She is a warm, caring individual, but she will tell you the information you need to hear. She told me my odds were low, but that she had faith in me because of my age. Even though I failed, she didn’t make me feel like a failure. You will enjoy her, she is amazing at what she does!

Dr. Milroy saw my situation and decided we needed to go all in. She got me into the cycle that was starting next and we were in within a month. I took 6 shots a day. 3 in the morning and 3 at night. The shots were Lupron, Follistim, and Menopur. We checked in every other day with the clinic. Everything was looking amazing. My right ovary was growing like crazy, although my left ovary was not. We ended up having to do shots an extra day just to get a little extra growth on my left ovary, even though it didn’t do anything. We then went in for retrieval and got 3 eggs! We were so excited! We didn’t even think we would get one! However, my egg quality was absolutely terrible, so none of them made it. But I personally feel Dr. Milroy did everything she could for me.

We paid $9,000 for the egg retrieval and about $4500 for the medications.

I personally never made it to transfer, so I cannot comment on this.

The Bozeman location is the office we are most familiar with. I’d want new patients to know that the office has many resources for them, from nurses that cry with you when needed in sadness and in joy. There are individuals that will help navigate through the ins and outs of insurance so you can get as much coverage as possible for these services. The staff is phenomenal. The Billings location needs better signage to help patients locate the offices.

Dr. Shomento really made efforts to personalize our experience with her from the very beginning. She asked us what our goals were, for the consult and long term, how much detail we wanted in explanations of our diagnoses and if we had any concerns with treatments. We never felt like “just another uterus”, we really felt like she invested herself making sure we had quality care.

Jess was personable and easy going. She immediately helped us feel at ease and made sure we had all the information we needed before we left. She taught me how to inject myself with medications for the trigger shot. Any time I needed to call and leave a message, Jess always returned my call as soon as possible, even staying after office hours some times to return calls.

Dr Shomento was very direct and to the point in our treatment which we greatly appreciated. By the time our ttc journey had brought us to an RE we knew we wanted someone that would be blunt and tell us what we needed to hear rather than just pacify us and tell what they thought we would want to hear. She always presented information tactfully and respectfully. Finding a weakness was difficult but I guess I’d possibly say her appointments could be scheduled slightly longer but overall we had plenty of time to ask any questions we had.

Bring a notebook to take notes, she is very thorough with her answers and I liked writing her answers down to be able to look back on it later.

At my initial consult I was on cycle day 12. Blood work showed I had an anovulatory cycle so Dr. Shomento ordered progesterone supplement to induce a cycle. I had one cycle of letrozole 5 mg cycle days 3-7 and I ovulated but did not conceive. Th next cycle I had letrozole 5 mg cd 3-7, dexamethasone 2mg cd 3-14. I had a midcycle ultrasound on cd 12 and also had a trigger injection that same day. 24 hours later I had an IUI procedure using my husbands semen. Dr. Shomento had previously ordered a semen analysis on him and all of his results were within normal healthy levels.

Our insurance only covered infertility diagnostic appointments, not actual treatment. I believe we paid approximately $2,000 in costs including hsg, lab work, medications, ultrasounds, IUI and semen prep.

I don't know if most clinics operate this way, but IVF cycles only occur every other month. Having a detailed calendar ahead of time was very helpful for me, so I could plan work and my life around the clinic's schedule. If you live in Bozeman and are going to that clinic location, it's important to know that procedures like the egg retrieval and embryo transfer take place in Billings. Our experience was you will need to take an entire day to be away for those things.

Dr. Shomento treated me with compassion, professionalism, and kindness. She always made time when I had questions or needed clarification. She helped me feel reassured during a very stressful time.

The nursing staff was awesome! No constructive feedback for them at all.

Our experience with Dr. Shomento (and her entire team) has been stellar since we began working with her earlier this year. I believe she is trustworthy, and she sets up realistic expectations while still being reassuring and optimistic. She makes herself available via text message for any questions that come up after hours, which was an incredible relief to me as I tend to run a bit anxious! We have had only one setback in our plans so far, and she handled it with compassion and helped us understand why we were changing the course of treatment. I have not had any negative experiences with Dr. Shomento or her clinic.

I highly recommend taking her recommendation of working with a mental health counselor who specializes in infertility counseling. It has made a world of difference for me as we have gone through this process.

$13,500 for the IVF cycle (including ICSI insemination). This did not include the cost of medications.

There aren't a lot of options in Montana, but I think the quality of care could rank nationally. Although, I've never been to another clinic so I can't compare. Treatment does require travel but appointments are quick and on time. Transfer and retrieval are both done in billings

Dr Shomento is personable and very easy to talk to. She explained the treatment procedure and reasons behind her decisions. During transfer and retrieval she also answers text messages directly to her. Her colleagues and coworkers are also personable and friendly. They are funny too!

The nursing staff is funny and really easy to talk to. One nurse has even gone through IVF herself so it was easy to ask about her experience and recommendations. They were very organized with all the paperwork they have to fill out and pharmacies they have to communicate with

I was referred to Dr Shomento after I found I had severe endometriosis. On my first visit we were recommended to try IVF right away. We were new to infertility world so I didn't know much about it, only that it was very expensive. After that diagnosis i aso visited a naturopath to see if there were other ways around IVF. We also looked into IVF abroad. After a year of no success we went back to Dr Shomento. We asked her thoughts on abroad IVF. She said she would support us if we made that decision but with all the steps involved it would be a lot of travel. She was willing to work with another doctor, too. We also asked if we could try IUI first. She told us upfront that success would be really low with my endo. In the end, we decided to stick with her for IVF treatment and are so glad we did. She is friendly, compassionate, and collaborative. I appreciate her in depth knowledge and services she is able to provide.

Be prepared with questions ahead of time. Appointments are long and she will give you the time if you have enough questions to ask

I did IVF only. With severe endometriosis they started me on 30-day lupron, then birth control up to ovary stimulation injections. I had maybe 5 ultrasound and blood tests to monitor egg growth and a saline uterus check and practice retrieval. I triggered with HCG and then had egg retrieval in Billings 36 hours later. I was put under for egg retrieval and had no nausea or sickness afterwards. I was told immediately when I woke up how many eggs were retrieved. The next day Dr Shomento called with a fertilitization report and next steps. We changed from a possible frozen transfer because of high progesterone to a 3-day fresh transfer because of a low number of embryos. I had two 7-cell by day 3 and one 4-cell we were hoping would grow to freeze. Doc gave us picture of two 7-cells and transferred both to increase chances. I was awake for transfer and watched the two embryos go into uterus. It was really exciting to watch. The 4-cell did not make it and I'm currently waiting for a beta blood test to tell results of two transferred embryos

Around $13,500 for IVF and another $4000 for meds. Also costs for lab work that insurance didn't cover

We did not ask that ahead of time. We were just hoping to get something because even though I'm young my ovaries are not because of endometriosis. Stats say we should have transferred 1 but she put both in because of the 3-day transfer to increase our chances

The clinic was fine. It wasn't outstanding in the same way as Dr. Shomento and her staff were, but they did a good job of scheduling, getting me in in a timely manner, and facilitating the excellent care I received from my caregivers there.

Dr. Shomento and her staff were wonderful. Warm, caring, willing to take as much time as necessary to explain things, and supportive of my anxiety about the process and during early pregnancy. I had frequent bleeding during early pregnancy and Dr. Shomento gave me her personal cell number and responded to texts and phone calls - sometimes late at night - when I was going through this difficult time. Her nurses responded to all of my emailed questions and worries. They were truly amazing and went above and beyond any experience I've ever had in the medical community.

Jessica Estrada and all of Dr. Shomento's nursing staff were wonderful. Jess in particular was funny, compassionate, endlessly patient with my anxiety and questions, and incredibly available via both phone and email.

Dr. Shomento is a wonderful doctor. She is not only extremely good at what she does, she has a great bedside manner and makes herself incredibly available to her patients. I had a lot of bleeding in early pregnancy and at least two instances where I thought I had miscarried. She took my phone calls and responded to my texts (she had provided me with her cell number) at all hours and got me in on a weekend to do ultrasounds following bleeding episodes to check on the fetus. After I had transferred care to my OB, she texted me to congratulate me at 12 weeks and checked in following my due date to see if the baby had been born and how we were doing.

Don't hesitate. Use her.

I was on Cetrotide and Menopur during the stimulation phase. I do not remember the doses, which in any case were adjusted during the process. I know I responded well enough to the medications that she lowered the doses during the stimulation phase to avoid ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome. Following retrieval I was on doxycycline, progesterone, Medrol, and cabergoline prior to embryo transfer, which occurred on day 5. Fertilization was completed via ICSI because my husband had had a vasectomy and had to have sperm surgically retrieved. Following day 5 transfer (2 embryos) I was on 1mg of progesterone per day and estrogen patches, changed every other day (not sure of dose). Prior to stimulation and throughout my first trimester I also took 81mg of aspirin daily. Prior to stimulation I had a uterine polyp removed by Dr. Shomento in preparation for IVF and at the same time she did some kind of scoring of the uterine surface, which was supposed to make it more susceptible to implantation.

Approximately $14,000 for the entire IVF procedure (stimulation, retrieval, ICSI and transfer, plus followup care), and approximately 6,000 for drugs, although I got a significant discount on the drugs through a discount program my clinic helped me apply for and my insurance covered most of the remaining cost of the drugs.

NA - She recommended multiple transfer based on my age and I followed her recommendation to transfer 2 embryos.

The clinic was fine... billing was easy, no mistakes, and its not hard to get through on the phone. Christine McDonnell, PA, is often the first provider a patient sees, and she's great too. I didn't have as much exposure to her as the others so I have less to say.

Dr. Shomento is very professional and upfront. The IVF process is very overwhelming and she continues to be as patient with me as possible. More importantly, she has an excellent nursing staff that complements her strengths and weaknesses, providing an excellent experience overall. Depending on what I need at the time - whether its comfort or straightforward facts - I can access someone in the clinic who can help me.

Julia and Jess are wonderful. They are accessible, honest, and compassionate. They take time to explain, and don't get tired of questions. I can call or email them anytime and always get a timely response. I don't think I could have gotten this far without them.

Dr. Shomento is professional, knowledgable, and clearly has a passion for the subject. I feel like she's on my side, and presents facts as clearly as possible. She takes time to help me understand, and provides staff to help further when necessary. She has never mislead me about the odds, and I love how faithful she is to real science. It's refreshing.

15,000, not including medications.

Willing to come in on weekends, clean, comfortable, easy check in, all staff nice and helpful Wish it wasnt 2 hour drive but willing to make travel work, ease and flexible scheduling payments easily made and delivered, questions always answered

Great follow up, kind, empathetic, truthful

Feel I know them better than Dr. Always available, empathetic, knowledgeable and on top of things

Explained everything very detailed and specific to our situation. Spent ample time and answered questions as they arose. Explained all circumstances even risks associated. Follow up and course of treatment always explained. Felt she truly cared and was ingested in good outcome.

Don't be hesitant to ask questions, she allows you to be in charge of your own decisions but educates you along the way.

1st cycle lower doses of meds which ended up changing for second round after failed IVF. After IUI she made quick decision to move onto IVF making it easier to do trusting her with next steps. She knew my limits as a patient and adjusted after first round explaining rationalle..was truthful when things didn't go as planned but always had a plan to move forward.

IUI app 2000 packaged price Ivf #1 9000 retrieval, 3500 fresh transfer, 3600 meds Ivf 2 8100 retrieval (10%) discount 2nd round 3500 frozen embryo transfer 600 IRA biopsy 3800 meds

She only does single and feels there are too many risks associated with multiples

Billings Clinic is great, I just wished they helped more with infertility financing or some sort of payment plan. As a couple who wants a family, but has a hard time paying for multiple IVF treatments you would hope that they would be able to help you or point you in a direction that can help. We were just told to look on the internet or google it. They are always very clean and professional. They have very up to date equipment.

On our first meeting she and her staff were so warm and personable. She sat down and drew out (by hand) exactly what we were going to do TOGETHER! She made us feel so comfortable and filled us full of knowledge we have been starving for the last 7 years.

They only have 2 nurses- so they get to know you well! They are always there to call and answer your questions. No question is too small or dumb. They are happy to be there and listen.

She is absolutely amazing! She loves her job and her patients and it shows! She is very aware on how financially draining infertility can be and she was upfront that they are always looking for ways to help us cut down on the cost. She has made everything so far go wonderful and we are hopeful she will help us get pregnant!

Don’t plan on waiting hours, they are the most prompt office I have ever been too! She will also spend as much time as you need!

Approximately $16,000 for workup, egg retrieval and embryo makeup. $2,00-$5,000 for medications, $1,000 for initial visit, blood work and ultra sound/mach transfer.

Dr. Milroy is leans more on the side of eSET- it all depends on what grades your embryos get, but she would rather you have 1 healthy baby and come back in a year to get pregnant with another healthy baby.

The nursing staff was always prompt in responding to my calls and questions. I usually received a call within the same day. The front desk staff was friendly as well as the in-house phlebotomists. The doctors were always great in answering my questions, no matter how many I had!

Christine is very vivacious, compassionate and caring. She always seemed excited to see me, although, each time, she would say "I hope we don't see you again". Meaning that hopefully the treatment would work.

Julia was helpful and compassionate. Personality-wise, I did not connect with her as well as I did with another nurse, but Julia was always very friendly and happy to help with anything!

Christine was super friendly and explained things very thoroughly. Even though our IUI treatment was not successful, she was always positive and upbeat which helped me with my disappointment. Christine is supportive and compassionate with her patients.

You will love her! Ask a lot of questions, she is always happy to answer.

Since we were dealing with male factor infertility and pcos, she suggested we start with IUI. IUI uses techniques that are beneficial to assisting our case. After the first cycle was not successful, she adjusted my medication. Unfortunately, IUI was not the answer to our infertility treatment.

The costs were a little confusing at first, but made more sense as we went along. It might have been helpful to see a price list of each type of treatment, or offer some kind of inclusive package.

Did not apply during Christine McDonnell's treatment

The clinic was great to work with for scheduling and appointments. The only issue we has was with one billing cycle, and that occurred because the clinic updated to a new billing system. The staff worked willingly with us to resolve this issue.

She was very thorough with us and took the time to answer all of our questions.

The primary nurse that we worked with was Jess. She was quick to call me back when I had questions or was ready to begin the process for IUI. She makes you feel very comfortable and has a great personality.

Dr. Shomento is very easy to talk to, and understand the frustrations that come with infertility. She was never rushed when we were meeting with her, as she took the time to answer all of our questions.

Make sure to ask all of the questions you have or express how you are feeling.

I did three IUI's with Dr. Shomento. I am not located in Bozeman, so before the IUI's I was able to do a lot of the prep work in Helena. I received all of my injections through a mail order pharmacy, and filled other medications locally. We ended up not getting pregnant during our three IUI's.

Between everything that I had to have done for an IUI - medications, ultrasounds, and IUI, we were paying between $700-$800 out of pocket. Our insurance did not cover anything.

Dr. Shomento recommends doing three IUI's and if you do not get pregnant, looking into IVF.

The clinic was comfortable. Staff were kind and knowledgeable. I really don't knoknow what else to say. We're still trying to put the pieces back together after 4 failed IUIs and having our hopes so high.

She took the time to talk us through everything. Very friendly and petsonable

Creating us by name and with hugs. Letting me cry all over them

She was Very friendly and personable. Very knowledgeable and delicate but straightforward with info. We were not successfull with any of our treatments. I don't know what else to say. It sucks and I cry a lot

She's amazing. But IUI is a gamble

First 3 cycles I was on letrozol then ovadrill before insemination. Then i han laproscopy/hystroscopy by another doctor in my town. Our final treatment I was on Clomid, follistem and ovidril