Beth McAvey

Dr. McAvey is a fast talker. She is warm and friendly. If you come in with a list of questions (you can prepare in advance and email her), she will respond to almost all of them. She listens to your ideas about protocol changes and will work with you to try to find the best results.

Do some research - as people what questions you should ask her. Have all of your questions listed in advance. Do not be afraid to speak up for yourself (by asking questions and advocating for what you want).

At times, it was difficult to get a straight answer from the clinic. It is a well-oiled machine. Yet sometimes, you feel rushed during appointments (monitoring or consultations), phone calls, or other interactions. There was one week I had to call every day to get a call back regarding the IVF plan and ordering appropriate medications. Medications were ordered last minute before a trip and I nearly missed a cycle due to the poor response. I never got an apology for their carelessness/disorganization/lack of responsiveness.

We did 4 cycles with Clomid (some where cancelled due to cysts). Due to my response to Clomid (and my concerns about elevated risks for breast/ovarian cancers), we changed to Letrozole for IUI. We did 3 cycles of IUI. Since research does not show additional benefit after 3 cycles of IUI, we discussed moving on to IVF. We did 2 cycles, first using an antagonist-protocol, the second using an estrogen-priming antagonist protocol (which adjusts for my high estrogen levels early in the cycle). Both had a high number of oocytes retrieved, but poor egg maturation/embryo blastulation rates. After 2 retrievals, we did 2 transfers. Neither resulted in a pregnancy, so we did additional testing and I sought additional opinions to make sure we were not overlooking anything. The testing revealed my husband had a balanced translocation. To potentially improve my embryo quality for the 3rd retrieval we changed to back to an antagonist protocol using an additional Letrozole flair during treatment. However, that cycle was the least successful - 2 embryos after 1 week but PGS testing showed they were both abnormal. Dr. McAvey then had a frank conversation about what to consider going forward and encouraged me to seek other opinions.

Olga is cold, disorganized, provides inconsistent instructions to Dr. McAvey and Anna (for instance, she will say you have to take a HPT on Thursday instead of on Wednesday, she sometimes says incorrect medication dosage, she's not personable). In contrast, I saw Anna less frequently but she was always much more friendly and her instructions were more in line with Dr. McAvey.

The strengths - RMA clinical team includes financial resources (if you have insurance, they will do all of the calls for your benefits, bills, authorization for medications). All you have to do is call to authorize your insurance for the IVF benefit. They do have an organized system. However, at times that same organization is a detriment. RMA treats you like a number. On one of my retrieval cycles, a new Dr (I had never met before) did my retrieval. He barely introduced himself to me. Then after the procedure was done, I had to ask multiple times for Tylenol to treat the pain and for the oocyte count. In addition, the nurses rushed me out while I still felt groggy and confused from the anesthesia. On another visit, a transfer cycle - I requested to transfer 2 embryos. The dr. nearly bit my head off, he was nasty/short. It made the rest of the transfer an uncomfortable experience and hard to relax after.

First come, first serve. The LI office was usually quiet. There was a wait only a couple of times.

Insurance covered most. Copays for medications ranged from $20-$190

RMA's standard is to do single ET, but we requested to do 2 embryos during one of our transfer cycles. They reluctantly complied with our request. Regardless, the result was negative anyway.

Dr. McAvey has been great to work with. The only thing I wish was that she was the one doing the retrievals and available during all of my monitoring appointments instead of sometimes the nurse doing the ultrasounds instead.

Not to expect to see her at every appointment.

Dr. McAvey has had great bedside manners, has taken the time to discuss next steps with me and go into detail answering the questions that I've had.

I think they were the antagonist protocol. 1st retrieval was priming with birth control, and then 300iu Gonal F in the AM and 2 vials of menopur at night with a dose of micro dose lupron in the AM and PM. Menopur was adjusted during the cycle. Plus a trigger shot. 2nd retrieval was priming with estrogen patch and cetrotide, then was 200iu Gonal F in the AM and 2 vials of Menopur in the PM with cetrotide and two different trigger shots. 2nd retrieval was better, but embryo tested abnormal.

The nurse was fine. Doesn't give me as much detail on the follicle growth as the doctors do and isn't as personable, but she's fine otherwise. The IVF coordinator has been patient with me and answers all my questions in a timely manner. The ladies at the front desk have all been pleasant. The nurse who does my blood draws has been very pleasant with me.

strength: doesn't make you feel like just a number, overall the employees are pleasant. weakness: if you need to do monitoring on the weekend, you'd need to travel into Manhattan. Egg retrieval and transfers are in Manhattan as well which can be inconvenient.

IUI was about $1500 with monitoring (no insurance coverage) and IVF I believe was $23-28K with no insurance coverage.

It's actually pretty hard to share my experience with her because I barely saw her in the 4 months with RMA. We had a none existent relationship. Every time I went in for monitoring aka "cattle call" I saw a different doctor. They were all very nice and I'm sure great doctors but the problem is with these big clinics is that you really don't have one person truly dedicated to your success. IVF is all about timing. How can a doctor that hasn't even seen my ovaries make any sort of decisions on my cycle? And even if she wasn't there for all the visits, she never once called or emailed me to see how I was feeling. No one ever told me what my embryos were graded or was wrong with the embryos after testing. It was my first time doing IVF and didn't even know to ask. I was never told any blood work results. I learned I didn't really know much about anything until I got my medical records to move over to a fertility doctor. I also felt they dropped the ball with the last cycle. Then on about 5 days into this last cycle, a dr said there were only 3 eggs that looked mature. So I emailed Dr McAvey asking if she thinks there are only going to be 3 viable eggs then maybe we should cancel the cycle. We're paying this out of pocket so not trying to throw 15k out the window. Then the next day she upped my dose drastically like a Hail Mary attempt to get some more eggs to mature. The day before retrieval my I believe my biggest one with over 23mm which is huge and one or 2 others over 20. I feel she pushed those to the limit to try to get some others to grow. We did a half dose of the trigger. Ended up with one abnormal embryo on day 5. So, I was right. 15k out the window.

FInd another doctor

I was supposedly under the care of Dr. McAvey for 2 cycles but only actually saw her twice after the consultation. Didn't feel like I had a personalized treatment plan. She also left a voicemail to tell me all my eggs were abnormal.

They didn't really explain why they were doing what they were doing. I didn't know better and just went with the flow. Only until after I moved to a new doctor did I realize how left in the dark I was.

They were very nice and pleasant but you still feel like your being moved through an assembly line during morning monitoring. The nurse that was assigned to always sounded kinda cranky. But they called in a timely manner to let you know what meds to take and when to come in again

They really need to work on making patients feel like people. Having fertility issues is devasting and everyone just lacks compassion. The place feels like a baby making assembly line. I also feel I was kind of pushed to PSG testing. They didn't really talk to me about it. I just got a bill that said I was doing IVF with PGS. I thought it was what the doctor thought was best for me but I'm pretty sure that's how they keep their stats up.

Cattle call for sure but in and out pretty quick

I got a discounted rate through the Glow app. It was 15k for the cycle including monitoring since we didn't do a transfer they applied that money to the new cycle making it 12k.

Never got that far

Dr Mcavey is very nice, but never had adjusted my fertility treatments. We have all this “unexplained reasons” which seems to get everyone of the hook, while this is costing us a lot of money. I wouldn’t liked my one on one with her especially after a failed IUI

Take your time when she is in the room with you. Even if you have a failed IUI, press to see her or speak to the nurse for a better course of action on the next round.

As the IUIs continued, there was no explanation as to why they were not working. And we also did not adjust any “treatment” plans. No added tests, adding progesterone, etc. on my 4th IUI, I went into the city and as the nurse shut the door, she said, “IUI in room 5”. Felt like I was at a fast food restaurant

The plan was pretty basic. Come In for montioring and blood test after cycle day 1. Would go back a week or so later for an ultrasound. Then trigger, then back for IUI. She ordered to see and endocrinologist and my TSH level is normal now. Now we have done 4 IUIs , taking this month off to save money for IVF next month.

Sometimes I would see the nurse in Long Island. When i went for my ultrasounds she would just give me the size and saw i was ready. Even after a failed IUI, we never looked at weather or not the timing was off. One nurse in the NYC offive forgot to call in my first Ovidrel so I had to pay out of pocket for it. Also I found out I was pre paying for my trigger and it was supposed to be covered the whole time by my insurance

There needs to be a Better review after failed IUIs. There was no difference between any of my IUIs. One positive is that results came back quickly, same day if you made the monitoring hours. Expect to be stressed on making monitoring hours in the morning if you are working. I also would ask for a better communication on finances. My co pays were all over the place and there was no consistency on paying for procedures

4 IUIs $2,000 Genetic testing $400 Meds $300

My experience with Dr. McAvey has been fine. Whenever we speak she is kind and hopeful. I haven't actually interacted with her very much throughout the course of my treatment. I had an initial consultation with her before I started the IUI process (3 rounds), and then one more before starting my IVF retrieval cycle. Other than that, aside from one or two emails to answer a question, I didn't have any contact with her until she called to let me know my IVF failed to produce any normal embryos. It was only then that she let me know about taking CoQ10 to improve egg quality and to pursue acupuncture (which I had pursued on my own and told RMA I was doing). If you have questions, Dr. McAvey will absolutely answer them, via email or phone. But it's really up to the patient to proactively ask (and research/figure out WHAT to ask). When we found out there would be no transfer cycle for us, Dr. McAvey was optimistic and encouraged us to try again as IVF is really just "a numbers game".

Do your own research and ask as many questions as you can at your initial consultation and all throughout the process. You have to be your own advocate.

Dr. McAvey is kind, optimistic, and has a great bedside manner. Even when I am feeling down about the process, she is encouraging and hopeful. She has been willing to answer all of my questions both by email and phone. At RMA, it's easy to feel like a number, because there are so many women being treated there every day. Even when I felt like "just a number" on my monitoring days, Dr. McAvey never made me feel that way during any of our interactions.

3 cycles of IUI: five days of Clomid, Ovidrel trigger shot, IUI I cycle IVF (retrieval only, no normal embryos to transfer): Gonal F / Menopur / Cetrotide / Dual Trigger Lupron + hCG I was not given a rationale for following this protocol. I have a good ovarian reserve for my age, so based on this IVF cycle my issue appears to be egg quality.

The nurses at RMA of New York ranged from pretty nice to very nice. All of the questions I had throughout my IVF cycle were answered by the nurses vs. the doctors. Whenever I asked, they would sit down with me to walk me through the process and help me figure out my "medication ordering plan" (since I found the process of ordering the meds to be more stressful than actually taking them).

RMA of New York definitely has a system down. It's easy to feel like a number at this clinic, but they ARE pretty organized. While I got used to seeing a different doctor every time I went in for monitoring, one thing I did not like about RMA was that the actual procedures (IUI and IVF egg retrieval) were also performed by whatever doctor was on duty that day. There was one doctor at RMA that I didn't particularly care for (his bedside manner was not a match for me) that did one of my IUI's, and I would never have actually chosen him to do it. At RMA, you are very limited when it comes to choice in that sense. I didn't even SEE the doctor who did my IVF egg retrieval. I was already under anesthesia before he even came into the room. Overall, I've had a good experience at RMA (despite my treatment failures).

Monitoring appointments at RMA of New York are well organized. I typically never waited longer than 15 minutes to be called and was typically always in and out within 45 minutes.

My health insurance covered my IUIs in full and one cycle of IVF (up to $10,000), however it did not cover most of the expensive IVF medications. For my IVF retrieval cycle, out of pocket I paid ~$4,500 for my medications, $2,000 for the embryo biopsy, $750 for anesthesia, and $750 for PGS testing of 4 embryos plus all office co-pays ($40 each). Billing for my IVF egg retrieval procedure hasn't gone through my insurance yet, so I don't know if I will owe anything additional.

As this is my first IVF, I wish Dr. McAvey explained to me which treatment is choose for me and educate me a little bit more on what to expect. I did most of my learning through reading and google online. I wish I have more options available to me for me to consider if the 1st treatment failed.

Educated yourself more on the IVF topic. I was abit overwhelmed and clueless.

Dr. Beth McAvey is personal and warm. She is direct and reply to emails.

Lupron protocol was used for me, don't know the rationale of why using Lupron. That was exactly my previous comments that I wish Dr. McAvey explained to me more on the treatment strategies. I didn't know how many protocols are available and options before my treatment. All the blood work seemed normal as progressed. As a result of this Protocol, 2 matured size, 2 mid size and 1 small one. Dr. MaAvey did push 1 more day before the trigger shot to give more time for the small one to grow. Result: 5 retried and only 1 inseminated. And the only 1 inseminated one didn't grow after few days.

I always get different nurse on each blood work result and call back. They are give clear instructions and answer my questions.

RMA seemed pretty organized and well run, most of appointments are on schedule. I wish they give me more clear answer on the state run grant's availability. I follow up many times on the status and I always get respond that they do not have a contract signed with the grant yet.

the overall experience is good. 95% of time are pretty quick and standard. wish I get less bruise from the blood drawing. There are 2 nurses's technique are bite harsh.

3 times of IUI - $2,000 1 IVF - $20,000

I didn't get to that stage of process yet, so I don't have good and valuable comments on this topic that I can provide.

Initially, Beth seemed sympathetic to my feeling of helplessness but as more treatments happened, she didn't take the time to explain to me why the treatments kept failing. I would've liked to spend more time understanding what we could do to find out if there are other underlying problems with me or my husband in order to better our odds. Maybe there's no way but at least we have explored some options but unfortunately we haven't had the chance to do so yet.

I would tell the prospective patient to ask a lot of questions upfront, esp. in case the first couple of treatments fail. I think the most time you'll get out of the doctor is upfront during the first consultation. After the first meeting, you are dealing with nurses and other doctors in the clinic who are not your primary doctor so it's harder to get the information you are looking for.

When my first IUI failed, I was very anxious in finding out the reason for the treatment not to work. She didn't take the time to explain she just said sometimes there's no explanation. During my second treatment, I insisted on running tests to see if there are other issues with me since the second IUI also failed but she said nothing seems to be wrong. She didn't make any helpful suggestions to put me at ease about why my IUIs keep failing or what I should do as my next step. I felt that I was just one of the many "numbers" she had to get through for the day and she didn't take the time to explain to me what I can do to help my odds.

The overall strategy my doctors recommended was to start with IUIs and see if they'll work before I try any more intense treatments due to my age. However, the IUIs have not worked and I still haven't found out the underlying issues.

The nurse was very prompt in calling me for every step of the treatment. However, her voicemails would sometimes contradict what she'd tell me on the phone. It's hard to keep track of the schedule so getting contradictory voicemails make it harder.

I think the clinic is reputable so I have comfort in the level of care I'd receive. However, because the clinic is well-known in the area, I am one of many patients there so a new patient would not feel like she will receive individual attention and care that she deserves.

For the past two IUIs, I've paid more than $5K out of pocket to the clinic. That included medications, consultation and the actual procedures performed.

Not applicable as I've not tried eSET.

Dr. McAvey did a great job monitoring my first and only IVF cycle after 7 failed iuis at a different clinic. I have endometriosis but there was no clear reason for my infertility. She was extremely positive about my chances. I think I ended up being an easy patient because I ended up responding very well to the stimulation cycle. When my e2 spiked and I was in danger of hyperstimulating, she canceled my fresh transfer so that my body could recover. She did a great job of monitoring my follicle growth so I triggered at the right time for the maximum number of eggs retrieved. I ended up with 31. She also pressured me gently to only transfer one embryo, because she thought my chances were so good, and I really wanted to do two. IVF is obviously an easier experience on a patient when it's so successful, so it's only natural that I highly regard Dr. McAvey. It's hard to know if I would have gotten the same great outcome the first time with anther doctor. I still have 11 frozen embryos waiting to be our baby's sibling.

Ask a lot of questions. Be in touch via email if you want more information.

Dr. McAvey was warm and took the time to share information and answer questions. She was receptive to email communication.

I believe I was on the antagonist protocol for ivf: I had a short 8 day stimulation cycle, and I took gonal-f, ganirelix, and menopur during that time. (Probably others I'm forgetting). Of course I started my cycle with birth control pills. When my cycle staRted and I went in for baseline, I had an ovarian cyst that delayed my start for two weeks. She prescribed me ovidrel to treat the cyst. I triggered with hcg. I had a lot of follicles to begin with and responded well (except for the e2 spike, which was fine). I had 31 eggs retrieved, 19 fertilized, 12 made it to freeze. I then went straight to a frozen embryo transfer for my next cycle. I was prescribed antibiotics, estrace pills, and I was on progesterone in oil shots through week 9 of pregnancy. My transfer went off without a hitch. I didn't do bed rest or anything afterwards.

I'm not sure if Erin was the primary nurse but she often was the one who called with instructions. She always was patient with questions. I also heard from Olga a lot. I didn't have too many interactions with nurses in person- mostly just leading up to the instructions for trigger, retrieval, transfer, etc. My ivf coordinator Christina ended up not being extremely helpful. She was new, but I found I could get information from my doctor or nurses, not from her.

Rma is of course a big clinic with good success rates. From what I've read, the quality of their lab makes a big difference in their outcomes, but that's one area of the practice that we don't really see. I went to rma westside (except on weekends) and I was so pleased overall with how quickly and efficiently I was seen in the many morning appointments for monitoring. I had been so worried about missing lots of work, and I ended up not being late once, because if I got to the clinic before it opened (7am), I could literally have my blood drawn and my ultrasound done and be out the door at 7:20. Amazing! They also were very organized and never missed calling me with my instructions, which was an unfounded paranoia of mine. Rma is more impersonal because you rotate doctors and there are so many patients, but it seemed to me that they have a system that works. I think if you arrive later in the window of hours for monitoring, you probably end up with a long wait. That happened to me once on the weekend, but at least I expected it. They really move quickly though. At rma, I definitely didn't have that feeling of knowing the nurses well, even though I went in all the time. They didn't really know me by name. But everyone was always friendly and professional, so that was a fine trade-off to me.

Weekdays 7-10am monitoring hours. I always arrived by 6:45, out by 7:30 at latest. Very efficient and well run. On weekends you have to go to the big main clinic. I had a longer wait there but it was quicker than I expected considering the number of patients waiting.

I was extremely lucky to have my ivf cycle and medications be 100% covered by insurance. I think we only had a few hundred billed to us (copays and an u/s at my initial visit).

If anything, I should've made more attempts to communicate with her as she would've made herself available. For example, I had a side effect to one of the meds I was on but because I read about it as expected in the paperwork, I didn't say anything. But when I brought it up at my next appointment, Dr. McAvey said I should've told them. I didn't know that I could/should. That was frustrating but, again, I know if I had reached out I would've gotten a response. For example, once when I did have a question, as she was running out of the office, she told me she'd call me on her cell from her car. She was really straightforward, smart and kind. There were a few times when I wish she had been more familiar with my file but I recognize that all of these doctors see sooooo many patients, I feel like it's actually our patient responsibility to do a lot of reminding with each and every appointment. I asked the director of a prominent cryopreservation lab about her and she had nothing but good things to say about her as well.

Dr. McAvey was very down to earth, explained things well and even responded to emails, which was really reassuring. She's smart, talented and well-connected. She referred me to a great doctor for my fibroid surgery.

RMA has pretty much gotten IUI cycles down to a science: bloodwork, meds, ultrasounds, insemination, two-week call. Because I was at the beginning of my journey, this process was about making sure my uterus was in good shape (it was not so we had to work on that) and then getting me in and out for IUI cycles with the appropriate drugs. Pretty basic.

It's really hard to rate the nursing staff because it was so large. Some people were great. Some people were mediocre. Once I went and waited over an hour for a scheduled insemination because they had forgotten me--and I didn't speak up, I just waited patiently. Other times, I was seen right away. Some nurses were great at blood draws. Some weren't. I have a feeling things are a little better (ie. less busy) at the west side clinic.

Show up early for your IUI visits because that waiting room fills up fast and there's usually a wait. Keep in constant communication with the doctors and nurses. If you care, ask for a female technician. They're there but there are so few of them I feel like advocacy might help.

My insurance was awful. They said they'd cover testing but ended up not doing so. As a result, I had to pay out of pocket for virtually everything.

Dr. McAvey was warm and compassionate. It put us at ease, but she didn't seem particularly resourceful when we were faced with the results of the initial workup. It turned out we had a combination of DOR and male factor infertility, and she immediately suggested donor eggs, which we weren't ready for. We wanted to try with my own eggs at least once before going down that route. We decided to consult elsewhere for a second opinion, as we weren't sure if Dr. McAvey had the expertise for us. The treatment plan she suggested was either donor eggs or cookie-cutter IVF that didn't seem tailored at all.

Dr. McAvey was very sympathetic and listened to our concerns. She was the first doctor we saw with our suspected infertility, and I appreciated being treated like a human when we were apprehensive and unsure what the future holds.

Her first suggestion was using donor eggs due to my low ovarian reserve/high FSH. While I understood that donor eggs would give us much higher potential for success, we were disappointed by the lack of real treatment strategies for using my own eggs first.

It's a large clinic with multiple locations and many patients, but the staff does make you feel like you are a human, which we really appreciated. (We didn't have much of an interaction beyond a few consultations and workup, because we went elsewhere for our actual treatment.) It felt like RMA is run well. Both our appointments were on time and we didn't have any billing issues.

Dr. McAvey was very warm, optimistic, thorough and personal. Dr McAvey was very warm, optimistic, thorough, and personal. I appreciated her bedside manner and her level of involvement in my care. I would definitely recommend.

Be communicative with Dr.McAvey regarding your care. She helped me when the clinic failed me. I appreciated her involvement.

Dr McAvey had a warm bedside manner, emailed and called me personally, didn't make me feel rushed, and seemed genuinely concerned with my success.

Traditional IVF with ICSI

Seemed to be informative, patient and thorough. I felt confident in my care. Not overly warm, but kind enough.

The IVF coordinator was horrible. My cycle was delayed because of her lack of communication and errors. That said, the clinic did come through for me to try to make things right. I was reassigned and prioritized in my care going forward and I truly appreciated that effort.

I believe it was $12,500 for an IVF package including one FET if the fresh transfer failed. Plus $2500 for ICSI and around $5000 for meds.

She recommended SET based on my age, diagnosis, and past success.

Dr. MacAvey is kind, honest and to the point. She's optimistic and extremely helpful. I highly recommend her and the entire RMA staff.

Don't be afraid to be open with her (hopes, fears). She will give you her full attention and will be totally honest.

She was warm, friendly and reassuring.

I have PCOS. I'm on cycle 5 of letrozole to stimulate egg growth. Mid-month I'm scanned for progress (which has been great each month) and then given the Ovidrel injection to induce ovulation. The meds are mild and my body is responding well/properly. Like I said, I'm not pregnant yet but am hopeful I will be very soon. Even healthy couples can take up to a year naturally. The Dr. Has assured me that it will happen soon, and I believe her!

Erin, my nurse is incredible. She's thorough, informative, Empathetic and extremely prompt in getting back to you with results/questions.

RMA is one of the best in NYC. They are organized, friendly, clean and reliable.

Insurance covered almost everything.