Celeste Brabec

I believe Dr. Brabec is an experienced RE. This experience makes up for her lack of bedside manner. She cuts straight to the point and does not always listen well. Dr. Brabec is clearly busy but certainly cares about her results. She gave exaggerated optimistic odds (65% success rate) when encouraging us to use donor eggs. When our donor egg cycle failed, she said "we knew the odds were just 50%." Both odds are higher than those reflected on the clinic's SART records.

We were told Dr. Brabec had no bedside manner before we met her by several patients of hers who had had success being treated by her. Had we not known that, it would have been harder to accept.

The front desk staff was always very kind and friendly.

Based on lab results, we were advised by Dr. Brabec's staff to use frozen donor eggs. We jumped at the opportunity given the success rates she cited. Our med/timing protocol was the same as all first-time donor egg recipients at her clinic and was very similar to those I've learned about from patients at other clinics. My uterine lining was right on track for the initially estimated transfer date. The transfer failed (did not result in a pregnancy) due to a "poor quality" embryo. Two REs consulted after this experience indicated they would not have transferred an embryo of that grade.

Marge has been working with donor egg recipients for years at RRC.

We chose this clinic because it is one of the only fertility clinics in the area that does not "batch" patients so the wait time for IVF was shorter. The front desk and lab staffs were always kind, friendly and welcoming. There were multiple billing errors that we had to ask to be corrected and were ultimately (but not easily) refunded. We would advise new patients to get all billing information in writing and to crosscheck it after receiving invoices.

Approximately $12,000 for lab costs and one embryo transfer, including a $1,500 "coordination fee." The fee for eggs was $15,000 from a separate egg bank that our fertility clinic works with. We paid that fee to our clinic. However, via an online donor egg recipient forum, I learned that we were overcharged more than $1,000 by our clinic.

Dr. Brabec told us she is usually unwilling to transfer more than one embryo at a time citing that it's in the best interest of the patient and child(ren).

Dr. Brabec is very personable and passionate about her work. You can really tell that she cares about do everything she can to help you achieve the best results possible. She is a leader in her field and has been published many time for her work. We live in Missouri near the Kansas boarder, and we were actually recommended to go to her by a doctor we knew in Texas who spoke very highly about her work and clinic. To me, it said a lot that a doctor in Texas knew about her, her clinic, and their success. Dr. Brabec's staff is very friendly and helpful. We first started with an IVF cycle with ICSI, it resulted in our twin girls (who are now 4 years old and wonderful) on our first try! We have the dream of having 3 children, but we have not yet achieved that. Since our first IVF, we had three remaining embryos that we have attempted two frozen embryo transfers with. Our first FET resulted in one embryo not surviving then that cycle and the second embryo resulted in a pregnancy, but unfortunately ended due to miscarriage at 8 weeks. Our second FET did not result in a pregnancy. We now face having to do another full IVF cycle if we want to achieve our family of 5. We still are confident and plan to use Dr. Brabec for this cycle.

Ask plenty of questions and always feel comfortable expressing your feelings and thoughts with Dr. Brabec.

Dr. Brabec is very personable and outgoing. She always takes the time to listen to any of your questions and concerns and explains things in a way that is easy to understand. She is also direct with her opinion and to the point, which we very much appreciate about her.

I don't remember everything in the protocol well enough to comment accurately.

The nursing staff is very friendly and helpful. Many of them have had fertility issues themselves and know how to relate to you.

I believe the clinic itself has been very well funded and has the latest technology, equipment, training/education, and resources available to them to help you achieve the best results possible. The clinic uses an online portal that you may contact any of the staff at anytime through your process with questions and concerns. The staff is very quick to respond. The process of IVF is complicated and very involved, so you WILL have questions during the treatment. The online portal is very useful for this reason. The whole staff is very friendly and good at making you feel comfortable.

I believe our cycle of IVF + ICSI totalled approximately $17,000 all combined. Our FET cycles were approximately $3500.

Dr. Brabec will only transfer up to two embryos at a time. She feels that the risk if pregnancy complications with any more is two high to justify doing it. Even with two she will explain that twin pregnancies are considered to be high risk.

At times during our treatment, I really liked Dr. Brabec, and other times not so much. As some one who really wants to understand my treatment and the reasons for selected protocol, I felt like communication was greatly lacking. I also felt like Dr. Brabec got defensive when I questioned her about what went wrong with her cycle (not blaming her). I was apparently diagnosed with PCOS but wasn't made aware of that fact for several months until I asked during our IVF consult. Otherwise, I don't know if I would ever have been told.

With Dr. Brabec (or any RE), it can be intimidating to ask questions, but you really need to be your own advocate throughout the process.

I did two cycles of IUI with letrozole, then my husband and I decided to move on to IVF. For our IVF cycle, I was on an antagonist protocol with Menopur. I had a short stimulation period followed by freeze-all egg retrieval. Dr. Brabec had high hopes for our retrieval (as did we), but out of 18 eggs retrieved, we had 8 that were immature, and of the ten mature, only three fertilized. Only one made it to Day 5, 4BB blast. That FET cycle resulted in a negative.

Overall, we have had an "okay" experience at RRC. Because this is such an emotional process, I'm sure I would feel differently if we had a successful cycle. I rarely saw Dr. Brabec, but I saw her before my egg retrieval and my frozen transfer, and I found her to be very warm and caring both times. I also liked that it was a two physician practice, and that the two doctors reviewed the files together. I found most of the nurses and office staff to be great. Occasionally, we had very long waits (once on the day of an IUI after my husband had already given his sperm sample) which were very frustrating. It's already so much to juggle with work and life, and then to have a 1.5 hour wait is not fun.

Due to my age (34), Dr. Brabec recommended a single embryo transfer. We ended up with only one embryo so it was a nonissue.

I loved Dr. Brabec when we first went to her. She was blunt, but somehow compassionate. I appreciated her honesty and her matter of fact way she said "we will get you a baby". After my ultra sounds, she referred me back to my OB and said that I needed to have a fallopian tube removed. She was the doctor, I trusted her, so I did. We did a fresh transfer, never addressing the endometriosis, and transferred our only 2 embryos. After days of back and forth we are pregnant, no we aren't, we finally were told I was having a chemical pregnancy. After that, about 2 weeks later I got a call from one of the nurses that they were ready to start again. My husband and I requested an appointment to talk with Dr. Brabec, we just wanted some answers...what would we do differently, how does this happen, what are the odds of another chemical pregnancy? So, had our appointment. Dr. Brabec was sympathetic and told us that if we really want our best chances of having a baby we needed to go the donor egg route. We were not opposed to that, we just want to have a baby. I mentioned to Dr. B that I had been going to acupuncture and that it was helping my stress levels, if nothing else, immensely. She basically told me that I was wasting my money and that during the next round, with donor eggs, I would need to stop that. My husband and I looked at eachother and thought, ok, lets go home and look at these donor banks and make a decision. Then one of the nurse comes in and says ok, we can get your stim shots started for this next round asap. We looked at eachother and were so confused, Dr. B had just told us our best chance of having a baby was egg donor. The nurse called Dr. B back in and it felt so confusing and nobody seemed on the same page. Dr. B said that she would still work with us if we wanted to try another round with my eggs, but that donor eggs would be a MUCH better chance of having a baby. We left feeling frustrated, confused, and over all defeated. I went to acupuncture the next day and she told me to go talk to another doctor, so we did. We immediately made the switch.

Get a second opinion.

The staff at RRC was incredible. The nurses ALWAYS got right back to me and knew my protocol. They were honest and supportive completely. The gals at the front desk knew my name and always greeted me with a friendly smile. I never felt like a number.

She wanted us to do a fresh transfer, she said that would be our best option. She never addressed my endo. I started on bc, then applied testosterone patch for 5-6 days. On 8/4 I started leuprolide injections and growth hormone. I also started menopur and follistim in the evenings. My egg retrieval was 8/10, we started progesterone shots 8/12. Our transfer was 8/15.

The nursing staff was excellent! They were prompt on returning emails and calls. They were compassionate and they took the time to explain every detail. They never made either of us feel like a number or just another case. We LOVED the nursing staff!

The front desk staff and nursing staff were excellent. THe clinic places you on their schedule and they are not open weekends. When working with one doctor there, you might have the other doctor do the egg retrieval or the transfer.

I would say around $18000.

Dr. Brabec's compassion and love for her patients shines through. She was always thorough and reassuring with her instructions and plan of care. She took the time to make us feel comfortable with our plan of care and addressed and questions or concerns we had through out the entire process.

Know that Dr. Brabec and her staff is always there to answer any questions you have from filling prescriptions, to lab test and procedures. Weather in person, on the phone or via patient portal you will always receive a prompt response. No question is a dumb question so ask, ask, ask. They will always be able to guide you.

Dr. Brabec was always so warm and comforting through our entire journey. She and her staff held our hands and gave us reassurance throughout the process. Dr. Brabec was always ready to help guide us with any questions or concerns we had. We always felt cared for and that she always had our best interest in mind.

We did IVF ICSI. with a male fertility factor Dr. Brabec assured us ICIS was the best course of action to get the most healthy embryos. With our fresh cycle we got 5 healthy 5day embryos. We transferred two of them and had a successful pregnancy with twin girls born at 28 weeks gestation. For our next two cycles we did two FET cycles. Our first attempt at defrost was unsuccessful and lost an embryo. They moved onto the next embryo with a successful thaw we completed transfer with. We received a positive pregnancy test but unfortunately miscarried by our 8 week scan. We then attempted anther FET witch resulted in a negative pregnancy test.

The entire team at Reproductive Resource Center are simply amazing. They all take the time to ask how you are doing and feeling through out the process. They were always available to answer any questions we had in a timely manner, this includes the nurses, lab staff, financial adviser and scheduling. Everyone made it their goal to make the process as easy and stress free as possible. When we miscarried after our first FET cycle everyone had such kind words and a hug waiting for us. They never let us feel alone during one of the most difficult and challenging moments of our lives. We will never be able to thank them enough for all they have done and how well they cared for us.

Strengths would include friendly and knowledgeable staff. They are efficient at answering questions in a timely manner. They are good at communicating making sure you fully understand the process. They are so warm and welcoming it makes you feel comfortable and that they truly have your best interest in mind at all times. The make communication throughout your day easy though phone call, patient portal or in person. They provide a finical counselor that can assist with financing and dealing with your insurance company.

IVF ICIS approx $17,000 FET cycles approx $6,500 each

Dr. Brabec was open to multiple embryo transfer for our first cycle. She did advise we transfer no more than two embroys. Both embryos took and we were blessed with twin daughters born at 28 weeks gestation. For our next two cycles Dr. Brabec advised we only transfer one embroy at a time to reduce the risk of premature birth.

I only saw Dr. Brabec in person a few times but I found her to have an excellent balance between professionalism and being a compassionate nurturer. She was very confident which helped me feel the same way.

You might not get to see the doctor a lot, but she and the nursing staff are always looking out for you.

I felt like our goals were aligned from the beginning. It wasn't just "medical treatment" to them it was more like helping us attain a life goal.

We scheduled and started an IUI cycle before we had my final results for AMH and FSH. Although those two results and my follicular counts resulted in Dr. Brabec considering me not a candidate for IVF with my own eggs, we continued with the IUI cycle because it was already planned and paid for. It resulted in a negative pregnancy test so we immediately chose to start an egg donor IVF cycle. The doctor's rationale for recommending donor eggs was a combination of high FSH (18.8), low AMH (0.02) and low anterior follicular count (5 total). As well as my history of negative test after 12 months of trying "naturally" and 3 rounds of Clomid, 4 months of Metformin and 3 rounds of Femara. We received 8 eggs from Fairfax egg bank and 2 made it to blastocyst, a third was close but did not make it. We chose to transfer both embryos and that transfer resulted in a live birth of fraternal twins at 31 weeks.

Overall, I had an excellent experience with the nurses at RRC. The front desk staff was also filled with incredible people. I did have a few instances were I struggled with communication but I think that was mainly because I am a VERY strong self-advocate in the medical world and thrive on information and data. They took great care of me and answered all my questions.

The clinic has and excellent online portal for patients. I loved having access to it and the messaging feature. The only weakness I ever saw can be attributed to just being busy and trying balance a lot of patients. Everything from protocol to the financial side of things was throughly explained and I considered this clinic and the staff very strong and reliable.

Estimating: I believe the IUI cycle was about $1,500 with medication. The IVF cycle was just under $10,000. That is just the transfer side because we used donor eggs, which were $15,000.

Dr. Brabec didn't give a recommendation for or against multiple embryo transfer. She asked what we wanted to do and supported it.

Dr. Brabec is very knowledgeable and presents information in a confident, yet warm and empathetic manner. When I first met with her, I was very nervous about starting my journey to becoming a single mother by choice. She instantly made me feel at ease and laid out my options in a very pragmatic fashion. I underwent six IUIs and one IVF with fresh transfer before becoming pregnant and successfully delivering my daughter. Dr. Brabec gave me the outcome I had desired, even though the journey took longer than I had planned. Dr. Brabec honored my wishes and allowed me to continue attempting IUIs; I was never pressured to undergo IVF, although in hindsight, I wish I would have moved to IVF earlier in my journey. Dr. Brabec is in high-demand and for that reason nurse practitioners handle the majority of the office visits. All my IUIs were performed by a nurse. Dr. Brabec performed my IVF egg retrieval and fresh transfer. She was unavailable to perform the follow-up ultrasounds. Although I didn't see her on a frequent basis, I always had the sense that she would make herself available if needed/requested. Her nurses and staff are very competent, so I always felt that I was in good hands.

I would advise a prospective patient to be come to an office visit prepared with a list of questions/concerns. Dr. Brabec is in high-demand and the time a patient has with her is limited.

Dr. Brabec is a compassionate doctor who always took the time to explain treatments and protocol. The nurses and office staff were very welcoming and sensitive to the many emotions that result from the fertility journey.

The nursing staff were extremely compassionate, knowledgeable and trust-worthy.

The clinic is very busy and at times that meant appointments not running on schedule. The office itself was very clean and well-maintained. The overall environment was warm and welcoming.

IVF with fresh transfer = $10,625 IVF with genetic testing + 1 frozen transfer = $14,533 Frozen transfer only = $2,558 Internal embryo biopsy = $2,500 The above prices exclude medications and external hospital fees.

Dr. Brabec strongly advocated to transfer two embryos.

Dr. Brabec was very good at describing specifics of my fertility prior to beginning our treatment. She was very straight forward with our chances. she was also able to show compassion and understanding when our IVF didn’t work out like we would have liked. We would recommend her to our family and friends and continue on our journey for our family with her clinic.

She is very open and honest. I’m sure some people can take offense to her bluntness. I found it refreshing.

I felt like my doctor and nurses took the time to get to know me and my specific situation. In doing so they modified the plan to best fit our specific issues and responses to previous treatments.

We used a leupron protocol- with good doses of follistim and menopur for our IVF cycle. In hopes of getting more eggs -due to my diminished ovarian reserve.

The nurse really get to know you -especially when you see them multiple times per week. I felt like they became just as invested in our journey as we were.

I love all the staff at this clinic. I can’t say enough about the front desk schedulers who are awesome! To the wonderful nurses, who guide you through everything step by step. And the doctors guide everyone.

IVF 10,000 + medication cost of 5,000

I felt like we were only a small patient to her so she didn't spend much time with us. It's hard to get to know someone in only 10 or so minutes. Since we were iui patients I didn't feel as important.

She's nice, but you don't always get to speak directly to her. I wish I could of had more time with her.

She didn't spend much time with us. Just about 10ish minutes. The rest was done with the np

We did an iui. The nurse practitioner is who completed it all. They gave us letrozol and told me to use it on day 3 of my cycle. I also had dexamethasone. Was told to take that the same time. (Later found out on our 2 cycle to take in on day one of menses but they never told me that not even the 2nd time) then on day 10-12 they had me come in for ultra sound. Said to take my hcg shot and come back on day 14 for iui.

They were helpful. They are actually who I spent a lot of time with.

I didn't like how every time I came in I had a new nurse or nurse practitioner. Completely different than who I usually spoke to on the phone or even during the consult. It was very impersonal. It was hard to talk to someone new every time.

Iui was about 500 give or take per cycle

She seems rushed when speaking and explaining things to us. She does seem caring and competent though. She didn't change our treatment after a failed FET, but I scheduled a consultation and then she noticed things to change.

She is a good doctor. Confirm info with nurse so you understand what she is saying. She talks fast and it can be difficult to keep up.

Caring staff. Dr. Brabec seems competent and caring. She didn't seemed rushed during the consultation, but seems a little rushed now when speaking with us now that we are patients. We live out of town and it's significant for us to drive to the clinic or take off work to do a phone consultation, so it can be dissapointing.

Antagonist protocol. 6 eggs retrieved resulting in 2 PGS tested normal embryos. First one failed and second was a chemical pregnancy. No rational was given to me that I can remember for the protocol.

Caring, competent.

Caring staff, caring environment.

Monitoring is always in the morning, which isnt the most convenient for our schedule.There doesn't seem to be a line and seems to be well run.

We used Attain IVF Refund Program that cost about $21,000. Meds can be costly because they don't let you order from overseas.

She prefers 1 embryo transfer to reduce chance of multiples.

She cares about you and will spend a great deal of time going over what your best options are for success. She made me feel important and that she had my best interest in mind. She takes time with you and your family to go over all your options. She won't let you leave until you understand everything. You can ask as many questions as you would like and she doesn't rush you.

Sit down with her and ask her as many questions as you want because she won't let you leave until they are all answered.

She spent hours with me discussing my options and what would be best for me. She even stayed afterhours to sit down with my whole family to go over everything.

My protocol was to have my tubes removed first then go through a FET cycle. I already had 4 embryos frozen so we implanted two. I feel like having my tubes removed first was what made this cycle successful.

All of nurses at her clinic are amazing!!!!!! Marci was the nurse I always ask all my questions to and she got right back to me. I felt like her nurses were family.

Clinic strengths is that they care and they feel like family. You are important at that clinic. The doctor and nurses are caring and will help you understand what is best for you.

My FET cycle cost around 5,000

I wanted to have two embryos implanted because I knew I would have a greater chance of it working. One embryo survived.

We have only seen Dr. Brabec at our initial consult. Our Nurse Practitioner is our main contact. Doctor Brabec was very warm and took the time to explain our options. She was very optimistic! I feel that we would see her more if we were doing an IVF cycle. She has an amazing staff that truly personalizes our care.

She is extremely knowledgable and very nice!

Everyone in the office remembers our name and details about our lives. They are warm and welcoming each time we visit. The staff takes the time to fully explain treatment options and answer questions. We never feel pressured.

I don't remember specifics, but we felt comfortable starting with the least invasive treatment and Dr. Brabec supported us.

We love our nurses at RRC! They are so kind and work hard to meet our needs. We appreciate how often they communicate and how promptly they follow through.

Dr. B was very smart and knew everything there was to know about fertility . She wasn’t very sympathetic to me as a patient and our personal journey . I also Felt that she wanted to rush to IVF and not explore every option before that

Make sure that you wear your big girl pants . She is very smart and will do the latest and greatest treatment but won’t be very sympathetic to you as a person

The nurses were wonderful . They were kind and supportive . The doctor herself was very cut and dry and not understanding

They were amazing ! They were always there to give a hug and offer support

The clinic is very organized and well managed . They make sure you are aware when you have appointments and where to go . They are friendly and do the very best job at helping you along the way. I would Highly recommend the clinic

The only time I saw Celest was at my consultation and she was warm and friendly. She went through my charts with me and was reassuring that she would help me get pregnant. She emphasized with me and I knew she was there to help.

The office staf new my name when I came in as well as the nurses always aware of my previous appointments.

Letrozole, dexamethasone, metformin, trigger shot, IUI and progesterone

They were kind and always in communication.

I live two hours away from the clinic and I was able to use my Dr at home for ultrasounds during the IUI process. Once I started speaking about IVF, there is not a lot of flexibility on time and that makes it really hard with a child and a 2 hr drive

Each IUI was around $500 after insurance. IVF was about $11000