Penn Fertility Care

Dr. Bachman has always been willing to answer my questions, though I did have to often ask for a phone call. I have only seen her in person about 3 times, but it was clear that she was following my progress. Though my egg retrieval was a success, ultimately, we did not get any sperm from my husband's TESE procedure that happened concurrently. That was very disappointing, and even though Dr. Bachman did not have a role in that procedure, she still reached out to check in with us. She then guided me through the sperm donor process, which ultimately led to my current pregnancy. If you're looking for a doctor who will be present and hold your hand every step of the way, Dr. Bachman probably isn't for you. That's not her fault, but rather the way that the clinic runs. I think if I had asked for her to reach out to me more, she would have. She did answer her cell phone on a Sunday to talk to me when I was upset about our canceled cycle. Considering how big and busy they are, she makes a considerable effort to communicate with you.

Advocate for communication if you have questions or concerns.

For my egg retrieval, I stimmed with Gonal-F, Menopur, and Ganirelex. I was also taking baby aspirin and Lovenox due to an unrelated blood clotting disorder. I did a Lupron only trigger due to my risk for OHSS as a PCOS patient.

We chose to do a package that included one egg retrieval, embryo creation with ICSI, one year of storage, and one transfer. That cost roughly $12000. We spent roughly $3,000 on medications. Nothing was covered by our insurance.

We only transferred one embryo. There was never any discussion of transferring multiple embryos.

Dr. Shah was always friendly and available when I had questions and concerns. She listened to what I wanted and felt was best for my body. She never pushed for something I wasn’t comfortable with. While we were unsuccessful, I was pleased with our experience. I felt she did everything she could.

Don’t be afraid to speak up and voice your concerns and ask questions.

Our first cycle with Dr. Shah we kept our doses lower to avoid OHSS. As a result I ended up with a small amount of eggs. This led to an unsuccessful day 3 transfer and no remaining eggs to freeze. The second cycle we doubled my meds, yes doubled. This resulted in 21 mature eggs, which was awesome! But our fresh transfer was canceled due to borderline OHSS. We ended up with 4 embryos to freeze. After 2 frozen embryo transfers (1 embryo and 2 embryos respectively) were unsuccessful we decided to take a break. We have 1 frozen embryo remaining.

A single cycle with fresh transfer was $11,000. A FET $3,500.00.

Dr ONeill was informative but it is difficult to get an appointment or get in touch with her. I have no idea if we should adjust treatment at this point so I scheduled a follow up. While I trust her as a doctor, there's a big disconnect and gap in communication as a patient receiving test results and treatment with little to no explanation or adjustments between cycles

Go in with an understanding that she will not be your primary care provider during treatment and that you should schedule appointments well in advance

using Clomid to hopefully produce multiple eggs and then IUI to increase the odds of conception

around $400 for the IUI treatment, $1400 for ultrasounds if we want to do monitoring each cycle as well

Dr. Shah was honest and open with me about the risks and the chances of these treatments working. She took time to determine what my expectations were and whether I wanted to pursue IVF treatments before recommending them to me. I always felt like she listened to my concerns and took time to go over studies I found and give me her honest opinion about them. But she was quick to let me know if she did not agree with something, and to give me her reasoning. I felt this was fair, especially since I am also a physician and I deferred to her expertise with the understanding that it was much greater than mine in this field. When we disagreed about next steps, I switched to a different physician in the clinic. But there was no animosity involved with the switch. It was simply a difference of opinion after I experienced two miscarriages with PGS normal embryos. I wanted to pursue further workup for endometriosis and also to try prednisone and Lovenox for my next transfer. Dr. Shah disagreed with this course of action because she felt that there wasn't enough data to justify trying this. I understood her point of view, but I ended up switching to a physician who was willing to try these interventions even without the absence of strong data to support them. Every doctor is different, and I respect their right to practice in the way they see fit, as long as they provide evidence based and compassionate care. Dr. Shah did provide that, so I have no misgivings. For what it's worth, the additional workup and interventions did not end up yielding a pregnancy, so we are now pursuing surrogacy as our next option with the embryos we have remaining.

Don't take Dr. Shah's sometimes blunt or brisk manner as a lack of compassion. She does very much care about the outcome and wants it to be successful. But she is data driven and will not pursue treatments that she feels may do more harm than good, especially if the evidence for these treatments is weak at best.

For each of my four IVF cycles with Dr. Shah, I was treated with an antagonist protocol. I used the highest dosages of stim treatments due to my diminished ovarian reserve (AMH of 0.08 ng/mL). I used 450 IU of Gonal-F alone initially. I then added in 150 IU of Menopur and decreased the Gonal-F to 300 IU after a few days. I used 250 mcg of Ganirelix to prevent ovulation for the last week or so of each stim cycle. Due to my low AMH, my stim cycles were significantly longer than average, between 13-17 days. I triggered with 10,000 IU of HCG 36 hours prior to my egg retrievals. Below are the details of each cycle with Dr. Shah: IVF Cycle 1 (February 2020): Gonal-F 450 IU x 6 days, then 300 IU x 8 days; Menopur 150 IU starting on stim day 7 x 2 days, then decreased to 75 IU x 6 days; Ganirelix 250 mcg starting on stim day 9 x 7 days; HCG trigger 10,000 IU on stim day 15. Started progesterone 50 mg on night of retrieval in preparation for fresh transfer. Retrieved: 6 eggs, Mature: 3 eggs, Fertilized (ICSI): 3 eggs, Fresh transferred 2 day-3 embryos which ended in chemical pregnancy, froze 1 embryo on day 5 (mosaic trisomy 18). IVF Cycle 2 (May 2020): Gonal-F 450 IU x 3 days, then 300 IU x 13 days; Menopur 150 IU starting on stim day 4 x 13 days; Ganirelix 250 mcg starting on stim day 10 x 8 days; HCG trigger 10,000 IU on stim day 17. Retrieved: 8 eggs, Mature: 4 eggs, Fertilized (ICSI): 4 eggs, Froze 1 embryo on day 5 (PGS aneuploid), Froze 1 embryo on day 6 (PGS euploid). IVF Cycle 3 (August 2020): Gonal-F 450 IU x 4 days, then 300 IU x 11 days; Menopur 150 IU starting on stim day 5 x 11 days; Ganirelix 250 mcg starting on stim day 8 x 9 days; HCG trigger 10,000 IU on stim day 16. Retrieved: 12 eggs, Mature: 6 eggs, Fertilized (ICSI): 6 eggs, Froze 4 embryos on day 5 (PGS mosaic and aneuploid), Froze 2 embryos on day 6 (PGS euploid). IVF Cycle 4 (February 2021): Gonal-F 450 IU x 4 days, then 300 IU x 9 days; Menopur 150 IU starting on stim day 5 x 8 days; Ganirelix 250 mcg starting on stim day 7 x 7 days; HCG trigger 10,000 IU on stim day 13. Retrieved: 15 eggs, Mature: 5 eggs, Fertilized (ICSI): 5 eggs, Froze 4 embryos on day 5 (PGS euploid), Froze 2 embryos on day 6 (PGS euploid), Froze 1 embryo on day 7 (PGS mosaic). I also had an ERA done in October 2020 before my first FET since I had a small amount of PGS euploid embryos to work with (I requested this and Dr. Shah agreed). It showed I was pre-receptive so we added in 24 additional hours of progesterone for my FETs. Frozen embryo transfer protocol involves taking OCPs alone for 10 days, then adding on microdose Lupron injections (10 units) for another 7 days, then continuing microdose Lupron alone for 3 days, then decreasing microdose Lupron to 5 units and adding in Estrace 2 mg daily x 4 days, then 2 mg twice daily x 4 days, then 2 mg three times daily x 7 days, followed by a lining check and labs. Goal estrogen level above 200, goal lining above 7 mm. FET #1 (December 2020): Transferred PGS euploid day 6 4AA embryo. Miscarriage at 6 weeks (heartbeat detected in ER where I went after I started bleeding, due to SCH, but miscarriage completed). FET# 2 (May 2021): Transferred PGS euploid day 6 3BA embryo. Miscarriage at 6 weeks after heartbeat detected in clinic (no heartbeat on subsequent US, did have SCH but no bleeding this time). I proceeded to try another FET with a different physician. It ended up with a negative pregnancy test.

I had insurance that covered most of the costs of IVF. My final IVF cycle involved some more out-of-pocket costs after my insurance was maxed out. I believe that an IVF cycle out-of-pocket costs around $11,000. And I did have to pay for a couple of my transfers after my insurance was maxed. Each frozen transfer is $3,500 out of pocket. This includes all the ultrasounds and bloodwork through the first pregnancy test. My medications were also all covered by insurance, but they have an on-site pharmacy that offers discounted rates if you are paying out-of-pocket. My ERA was not covered by insurance. This cost $795.00 with Igenomix. And PGS testing with Cooper Genomics was $1,950 for up to 8 embryos, $250 for each additional embryo.

Dr. Shah encouraged eSET with PGS tested embryos, and I don't believe she would be willing to transfer multiple embryos if they were PGS tested. We did do a fresh 3 day transfer of two embryos after our first IVF cycle. This was recommended by the embryologist and not at our request.

Dr. Edwards was extremely nice, and took a great deal to talk to me during my appointment to answer any questions I had. The issue was it took forever to get an appointment with him, rather than the nurses, even as an existing patient.

Letrozole at 2.5mg for the first 3 cycles followed by Letrozole 5mg. All 4 cycles I used a trigger shot but only the first two we did IUI as my lining wasn't thick enough for the second 2 cycles. We also tried adding vaginal estrogen for cycle 3, which caused extreme irritation for one cycle, and estrogen patches for cycle 4, which did not help in thickening my lining.

At the time I really appreciated how clear and concise Dr. Senapati was. She's extremely personable and friendly. However during my two miscarriages I never saw her in person. All my visits with her were via telehealth after the fact, and when I was in the office I would see only nursing staff, the on call, or an NP. She was able to clearly explain what was going on (after the fact) and used logic to come up with a treatment plan based off tests we did. However, what I have come to find out through additional consults is that her plan is not appropriate for my situation, and is considered an overly aggressive treatment plan.

While Dr. Senapati is a great person, don't go to Penn Fertility. It's a business and you're just a number there.

After 6 months of not getting pregnant I had an HSG done, and became pregnant the following month. I miscarried at 7 weeks, and was basically told it wasn't an issue and we could try again. I got pregnant two months later on my first cycle of Clomid 50mg, and then miscarried (had a D&C) 9 weeks later. We did Natera genetic testing of the fetal cells which showed a rare genetic issue. After that I was told we needed to do IVF with PGT due to the genetic issue. Dr. Senapati said we would immediately have some testing done, and be put on the schedule for our nursing consult for IVF and on the IVF schedule and to anticipate a November start but it could be sooner. Then went on sabbatical, and I had to call/message daily to get my tests, saline sonogram, and mock transfer done and once done no one would schedule our IVF consult or provide dates to us. It was crushing.

We've spent $5,000+ after insurance I believe. Keep in mind we only did one round of Clomid with them, and that was $10 for the prescription...

Explained everything, didn’t make promises she couldn’t keep, was compassionate to our situation, worked with us to try to figure out new plans. LISTENED TO ME and our pushback on the embryologists resulted in my pregnancy.

Advocate for yourself, she’ll listen.

I can’t remember details. I know with unexplained infertility, she wanted to try 4-6 IUI’s to see if that would work. We got disheartened after 4 (well, after all) but we agreed to do the 2 more so the months weren’t wasted.

$400/ IUI, ~$6,000 egg retrievals, $~2,000 transfers.

n/A

Dr. O'Neill was great she empathize with my pain but was candid in her decision making for our care. She did lab orders that I asked for without question and supported us throughout our journey with her.

Always use your voice. You are your biggest advocate.

Her plan if we got to egg retrieval and transfer was to put 2 back in. I have a proven uterus, we have an 8 year old but are struggling with DOR, secondary infertility with male factor. So she felt putting in 2 gave us a better chance of conception.

Samantha Butts was recommended to me by my GYN. During our first consultation, she made me feel at ease and answered all my questions in detail. I liked how quickly and candidly she delivered information to me and I felt her warm bedside manner which confirmed the previous reviews that I had read about her.However, throughout the process, our communication declined. It became very difficult to get in contact with her directly even when using the portal, most times there were repeated follow ups, and as changes occurred during the process a plan that was initially communicated and agreed upon would be changed with little to no communication /explanation which created further delays. Once she and I had a discussion about the lack of and difficulties in our communication, it improved immediately and our standards of communication has remained consistent. Furthermore, she offers great medical insights on what may be going on with you and your cycle and makes recommendations based upon these insights which eliminates the cookie cutter response and approach.

At the initial onset and throughout the process, as needed, express to her your communication needs.

Before starting any process, a hysterosalpingogram was performed and due to the results a laparoscopy followed. Once these procedures were completed, discussions about IVF followed. The IVF protocol I was prescribed was Lupron 10 units & Gonal F 400 units for egg retrieval resulted in 24 eggs being retrieved. This protocol was used because my previous cycle was canceled.The IVF protocol for frozen transfer was Lupron & Progesterone which resulted in a positive pregnancy which was later on miscarried.

The monitoring appointments were from 6:45 to 9 am and they were very convenient for my work schedule. Your wait time was minimal and you were seen, in and out quickly.

2019, Invocell was $6500 and IVF was $8500. Both included single embryo transfer, mock transfer, blood draws, ultrasound checks, and storage. IVF transfers were $2500.00. In 2020, IVF transfers are $3500.

Her approach was elective single embryo transfer for both the fresh and frozen transfer. However, I inquired about multiple embryo transfers due to my age and she discussed with me the pros, cons, and trade offs and she is willing to transfer multiples.

I wanted to write this review before we transferred so I could share my experience without bias stemming from success or failure. I have had consultations with three REs and been in treatment with two, so I'm writing about Dr. O'Neill in relation to my general experience of the fertility industrial complex. PROS: -willing to listen and try newer diagnostics such as ERA and DNA fragmentation testing, *if you suggest them* -considers research brought by patients when developing a treatment plan -will initiate phone calls (vs. portal messages) outside of official consultations for quick discussions on next steps forward -seems to have a consultative approach and often mentions working with her Fellows and other colleagues to come to a decision on treatment. -while I would not say she is deeply informed on the role of race in infertility treatment, I was able to bring up the subject and she did not shy away from it -Genuinely kind and empathetic when you get bad news CONS (with the note that I think many of these are universal problems in high-patient volume clinics) -Not so good at communicating with her nurse. On multiple occasions I've gotten one set of medication instructions from Dr. O'Neill, a different set from the nurse, and had to ask her to double check with Dr. O'Neill. -Can be overconfident when she's incorrect about something - e.g. you believe you are having a procedure to look at X and Y issues, but she only remembers issue Y, so you have to ask her to go dig through your records to find evidence of issue X NEUTRAL/GENERAL INFO -Seems to err on the side of slightly conservative measures when it comes to making adjustments in treatment protocols. As mentioned above, she's open to ideas, but when left to her own devices, her style seems to favor treatments with a long track record of success -Does not give estimated probability of success (I didn't ask for it either) -Can be blunt and action oriented or warm and sympathetic at turns

Very efficient. Never had to wait more than ten minutes and usually in and out within thirty minutes total. I like that they have soothing images of clouds, etc .on the lights! Each treatment room has its own private bathroom, which is a plus.

I had insurance through Aetna (NJ) so most of my costs were covered. I did pay out of pocket for sperm freezing ($350ish/year), embryo storage ($430/yr), and mock transfers ($240)

Dr. O'Neill bases her transfer protocol for untested embryos on anticipated number of euploid embryos by age. For example, if you have three embryos and research estimates 30% aneuploid, she would transfer one embryo, then two, since we'd assume at least one of those embryos would not be viable.

Always candid conversation, and I appreciate his conservative approach. I never felt like procedures or tests were ordered for the sake of it; and if I showed a concern in an area, he would include testing. My experiences are always part of the conversation.

He takes a while to get into as a new patient, but once the plan of care is established, things feel like they move along in a reasonable timeframe. Decisions are made by him as your doctor, but often times, tests are done by the doctor that is assigned to the service at the time of your appointment (example, he does retrievals on Thursdays ... if it's another day, a different doc will do it), but that is also what keeps the process moving forward.

This is an unfair question - each treatment strategy should be different based on what is impacting infertility. Standard tests were done (HSG, SGH, Mock Transfer, more bloodwork than ever in my life, many baseline ultrasounds).

Penn is in-network with our kick-ass insurance provider. . . I paid $1500 out of pocket and didn't ask the rest.

Again - each medical situation is different. He approaches every decision from an individual approach.

We are sure Dr. Shah was intelligent, competent and hardworking. She had no bedside manner, warmth, or patience when asked questions, however. At the beginning of our second and last appointment with her I had asked a question after her ten minutes of explaining IVF. She abruptly and somewhat rudely said to wait until she had finished her entire presentation. I never felt comfortable asking her questions. During one of the diagnostic tests she didn’t explain how painful it would be and seemed annoyed when I cried. The clinic then had me walk down the stairs to meet my husband in the parking lot by myself. There were several instances like these where it would’ve been easy to show compassion and warmth. We never experienced that with Dr. Shah.

Prepare to be treated like you’re less than.

5 cycles of IUI with clomid. Dr. Shah for some reason started me out on a very high dosage of clomid which resulted in two cancelled cycles. Incredibly frustrating. Even after we determined the correct dosage, our IUIs were unsuccessful.

Dr. Kalra is extremely bright and up-to-date on the latest recommendations. She continues to be involved in several research studies and is on the board of key reproductive endocrinology societies. I felt that I could trust her recommendations 100% throughout the course of my treatment. That being said, I also felt that she was extremely receptive to my input. I was incredibly fortunate with my retrieval protocol - 49 eggs were extracted and 18 turned into high-quality blastocysts. I was disappointed when my first transfer resulted in a negative pregnancy test (although Dr. Kalra had informed me that there was at least a 50% chance this would be the case), and I spoke with her at this juncture. I asked for additional workup - a hysteroscopy as well as PGS testing. She thoroughly explained the risks and benefits of each of these additional procedures, and suggested another transfer prior to proceeding with these. At this point, I wanted a baby as soon as possible, and I voiced my interest in proceeding with both of these before the next transfer cycle. While this was not her recommendation, she respected my wishes - my hysteroscopy demonstrated a uterine polyp and PGS testing brought our yield down to 7 normal embryos. I became pregnant with my second transfer and am currently in my second trimester. Dr. Kalra is incredibly well-informed and has an evidence-based approach - both qualities I really appreciate. What I came to love over the course of my care was that she also VERY much cares about her patients' interests and chose to ultimately go along with what we hoped for as long it did not lead to any additional risk to me or the embryos. I couldn't have asked for a better physician!

Trust the process and trust your doctor. IVF can be a mentally taxing process - all the waiting, the unknowns, the expense, etc. Dr. Kalra and the rest of the physicians at Penn Fertility are the best of the best. Let them take the reigns and carry forward. Don't hesitate to ask questions and voice your concerns - they will listen to you.

The antagonist protocol was used for me as I was at high risk of OHSS given PCOS. I was monitored closely with labwork and ultrasounds.

We were fortunate to have insurance cover 90% of consults, procedures, and medications.

Dr. Kalra will only perform single embryo transfer for women my age as per ASRM guidelines. Transferring additional embryos is not an option unless you face extenuating circumstances.

Dr. Gracia was kind and she clearly knew what she was doing. She explained to my husband and I that she recommended having donor sperm as a backup in case his TESE was unsuccessful or only partially successful. She answered all of my questions during the two times I met with her personally.

Ask about the logistics of how the practice works, how often you will see her and who will perform your procedures.

For egg retrieval: Gonal-F, Menopur, Ganirelix, Lupron/hCG co-trigger. For embryo transfer: estrace and PIO.

Everything was covered by my insurance except storage.

Dr. K is very knowledgeable in infertility and does well in explaining it to someone new to the process. She has great bedside manner and made me feel comfortable every step of the way. I appreciate how she's available through phone or EMR messaging and will answer in a timely manner. Even through the phone, I feel that I'm speaking face to face with her as she has a great listening ear, validates my feelings, and answers all my questions in ways that I understand. She takes the time you need and doesn't rush through anything.

You will enjoy her as a Dr.

Covered mostly by my insurance.

Dr. Kalra did not have much time for us, and we only saw her at a few consults between treatments. We got the feeling she has the same speech she repeats to every patient. She quoted us numbers like 30% success rate then changed them to 5-10% once they failed. She also had little empathy for our hesitation about the high cost of treatments.

Be prepared to not see her much. You need to do your own research, advocate for yourself, and ask for changes if you see fit. Otherwise she will do the standard protocol.

My IUI protocol was 100 mg Clomid for 5 days with an Ovidrel trigger shot 36 hours prior to IUI.

I had insurance coverage for my treatments so was only responsible for a percentage of the cost.

Overall I did not have any issues with Dr Gracia or her team. She called me when results required discussion. The only thing I would say is that at Penn oftentimes you communicate with nursing staff and it is not always the same person. I would also say that you have to be more proactive to define the next steps and reach out to the team yourself.

Be prepared and ask for some of the treatment options. Educate yourself before meeting with any RE doctors.

1. IUI x 3 2. IUI with Clomid x 1 3. Ovarian stimulation with Lupron, 450 Gonal F cancelled IVF (only 2 follicles)

Procedures and up to two IVF cycles were covered by my insurance since I work at Penn (which is why I chose this particular clinic)

N/a

I have found Dr. Gracia to be intelligent, responsive and warm. She is generally quite receptive as well but there are times that I feel she could be a bit more open to a different idea or a less studied approach or intervention.

She is a great RE and has always made me feel that she cared about my treatment and wanted me to have a baby. Be educated and direct about what you would like to try and she is often receptive.

For my first cycle an agonist protocol was used. I produced a lot of eggs but only had 1 left on day 5 to transfer. For my next 2 cycles antagonist protocols with human growth hormone (both freeze all and then frozen embryo transfers) were used and these were more successful (4 embryos and then 3 embryos to freeze).

My first cycle was about $10,500. My second cycle was $5500 ( and $2000 for an additional frozen embryo transfer cycle). My third cycle was $8500. None of these prices included medications which were an additional $2500-$3500 each full cycle. There are also embryo storage fees that are about $250 every few months.

My doctor was willing to do either eSET or 2 embryo transfer depending on the situation and my preference.

Dr. O'Neill has a warm and engaging demeanor. She is thorough and accessible in her explanation of options and procedures. She is understanding of the financial pressures of using donor sperm and makes sure my wife and I are fully on board with the plan at each step of the process. I appreciate her careful balance between expressing optimism and hope, and being realistic about the process of fertility care. I would recommend her without any hesitation to any of my friends or family members in need of fertility care.

Be open and honest about your needs and desires, and never shy away from asking questions about your treatment. Dr. O'Neill will truly partner with you in this process.

I have PCOS, and was put on letrozole protocol (days 4-8), as it is shown to be more effective than Clomid in PCOS. Given that we have the expense of donor sperm, Dr. O'Neill offered to do monitored cycles with trigger shots to optimize our timing for IUI insemination. She also offered to let us use home OPKs if we preferred to have a less invasive/clinical approach to conception as a lesbian couple without "proven infertility" (by insurance standards). We opted for the monitored cycles, but appreciated her sensitivity to our situation. We have not been successful in our first four cycles so far, and are in the TWW for our 5th.

IUI cycles are $1000 plus meds

N/a

Dr. Mainigi is thorough, communicative, compassionate, and incredibly detail-oriented. During a really vulnerable time, she completely put my partner and me at ease. She knew so many details about my story during each of our conversations and was able to talk about my medical history in detail without even glancing at my chart. She is incredibly prepared for each appointment. She's also very empathetic and completely understands the delicate balance between emotional urgency and cost. Would recommend to anyone -- She's the best!!

Provide her with as many details as possible, as she takes everything into consideration when creating an individualized plan. She's also incredibly honest and communicative, so you'll get thorough answers to your questions.

After my initial testing (bloodwork, ultrasound), I had a hysteroscopy to evaluate whether or not I had a uterine polyp. Dr. Mainigi wanted to take this step after one of my ultrasounds because the alternative was to wait and do a second ultrasound weeks later -- which, in addition to not being efficient, wouldn't have enabled her to treat any polyps if she found them. Post procedure, she recommended that I begin IUI because she knew that I had already been trying for a long time and was eager to move forward as quickly as possible. She was very understanding when I delayed this by a couple of months after finding out that my insurance doesn't cover any fertility treatments, and supported my decision to try Clomid alone for two months. When that didn't work, we started the IUI process. I'm undergoing my first round now -- She generally recommends 3 rounds of IUI before moving on to IVF.

I had a great insurance plan during my initial visits and hysteroscopy, so I only had to pay $10 copays. Under my new insurance, I've had to pay for everything. The Clomid costs about $16/month (for 10 pills). A round of IUI is $1000 and a round of IVF is $8000. I was also told that IUI with injections is $2000 but I haven't undergone this procedure and don't know very much about it. Those prices do not include associated prescriptions. The one injection for my IUI was around $35 under my insurance plan. I believe I paid around $100 for my most recent consultation.

Dr. Divya’s strengths include showing compassion, being detail oriented, knowledgeable, and thorough. I haven’t had any negative experiences with Dr. Divya. She explained what would happen every step of the way and also explained the results to all of our testing. She also explained the potential treatments before the results were back and then explained then gave options for treatment. She gave me her opinion, but let my husband and I decide what the best treatment would be for us.

My advice to anyone would be to be prepared with questions. Plan on having some testing done after the consultation as well. We had our consultation, then had blood work, genetic testing, and an ultrasound all in her office minutes after the visit.

We haven’t started any treatment as of yet, but she recommended IVF for us. We’ll be going over the details at our next appointment.

I haven’t completed treatment, but I believe IVF will cost about $15,000. Medications alone will cost a couple thousand and egg freezing will cost about $500 for 3 months (I believe).

She stated that for young couples, I believe under 35 years of age, she would recommend single embryo transfer, but I think it would ultimately be the patient’s decision.

Dr. Kalra is a very kind and knowledgeable woman. We saw her after two natural miscarriages, and the OBGYN pointed us towards Penn to try and get some answers as to why it happened twice. Dr. Kalra sat down with us and mapped out the next steps and what blood work and tests were needed. She explained the process of pregnancy and why miscarriages happen from time to time. While under her care, my husband and I went on two have two more miscarriages and she could not have been more compassionate during that time. She really felt for us and it showed. During the course of treatment, often times you will see the nursing staff and not necessarily your doctor. When I did see Dr. Kalra, she was really great.

I think it is important to ask questions. While she explained everything to us, asking for clarification or more detail can be very important. Often it is very emotional and overwhelming when receiving all of the details, so come prepared with questions!

After receiving the initial testing back, Dr. Kalra told us to try on our own for a few months. We did and it resulted in a pregnancy that then ended in miscarriage (#3). We met with her again and she told us to try on our own. When nothing happened after 4 months, I started Clomid and timed intercourse. The following month we did Clomid and IUI, which failed. I then got my period too soon and thankfully a wonderful NP stepped in and viewed my chart and changed me to Letrozole. We then did three more IUI cycles, all which failed. During this time, I did not have any communication with Dr. Kalra and had it not been for the WONDERFUL NP, I most likely would have left Penn. Following the IUI failures, we met with Dr. Kalra again and were going to move towards IVF. However, I ended up getting a new job, and we put that on hold for the summer. Low and behold, I ended up pregnant again on my own, with yet another miscarriage (#4). Now we are awaiting results and another doctors visit.

The four rounds of failed IUI cost me about $1000 out of pocket.

He is very nice and kind. The clinic is very busy and I felt like a number. We always felt overwhelmed and needed more direction and guidance after leaving this office. It was stressful. Thanks

Make sure you ask lots of questions and feel comfortable that your doctor will be overseeing your case. You need to trust your doctor, whoever you choose, for this overwhelming process.

IUIs. First we did a natural IUI, the second time I requested I was on a medication so he dose Letroxol

IUI procedure, meds, ovadril shot, Monoriting and consults (that you have to book if you ever want to speak or hear from your physician )

We left the group before IVF

When we saw Dr Shah she would always let us share our questions and provided very detailed (with notes!) explanations of her answers and, at times, what would happen next in our treatment. Unfortunately, we only saw Dr Shah in the office twice (an initial consultation and a meeting before starting IVF). After failed transfers, it would take at least a month to see her and so it felt like she didn't really know us and wasn't closely following our journey. She was conservative in her practice and was adamant at continuing the same protocol even after repeated failures. You need to be an advocate for your own needs and protocol because issues that might come up for you or your health might not be closely monitored or addressed if they're outside the standard protocol.

Choose Dr Shah because you're looking for a safe, researched-based practice that won't be aggressive and make sure you speak up and advocate for your own needs.

FSH / GNRH Antagonistic Protocol - the plan was to do PGS and frozen cycle(s) so the goal was to push my body a little harder than if we were doing fresh. The Dr wanted to be careful since I have a higher AMH about OHSS/over-responsiveness. We had around 12-15 mature follicles in each ovary prior to retrieval but they were only able to get 7 eggs out.

Retrieval & biopsy - $9,000; FETs $2,500 (these prices have now been updated & significantly increased)

Our Dr strongly encouraged single embryo transfers, it didn't feel like there was an option for anything else

Dr Barnhart was thorough and caring. The clinic is big so I did see a different doctor for each procedure and often times I only saw the nurse or tech. I would get a phone call from his nurse in the afternoon with instructions. I do feel like he was not that present for my cycles as I am sure he was involved behind the scenes managing everything.

Know that he isn’t a fluffy guy, he is matter of fact and to the point which I appreciate

My fresh cycle and retrieval cycle I was on a “high responder” protocol. My stim meds started out low and I used them for 9 days before trigger. I was only on progesterone for yhe transfer and it was not successful. For my frozen transfer I was on an antagonist protocol. I took Lupron during my leutal phase, got a cycle then started estrace, aspirin and started progesterone 6 days before transfer. Currently waiting to see if this was successful

The IVF package did not include embryo freezing, testing, or a mov transfer.

Dr Barnhart was open to transferring 2 embryos after my failed fresh cycle.