Irene Souter

As discussed earlier, Dr. Souter’s manner while meeting with her was consistently supportive, educational, and clear. We felt we always understood what our next steps would be, what risks were involved, and what chances we had of success. The only minor issue was how long we needed to wait between appointments to see her, but that’s just a product of how busy she is providing all of her patients with the same quality treatment.

Be proactive in scheduling any future consults. When our second IUI wasn’t successful, we preemptively scheduled our IVF consult to coincide with the third cycle of IUI, just to keep the ball in motion if the third cycle wasn’t successful.

While Dr. Souter is an extremely busy professional, we always felt like she made quality time for us during our visits. She reviewed any new results, was clear about our expectations, and patiently addressed any questions or concerns we had. We felt very well taken care of under her treatment.

All of our tests came back pretty normal, with the exception of some mild male factor issues (which improved with diet changes). Because everything appeared relatively normal, Dr. Souter suggested 3 courses of IUI with Gonal-F before moving on to IVF. The first IUI resulted in me getting my period before the two week wait was up. The second course was a little odd - my body didn’t respond as quickly to the Gonal-F and appeared to wind up ovulating on its own, so we did an IUI without a trigger shot. I didn’t get my period for 26 days after the IUI, but tested negative for pregnancy. The third cycle went smoothly and I received a positive pregnancy beta test 16 days after the transfer. I’m now 13 weeks along with a healthy baby!

The nursing staff were consistently pleasant and understanding. I felt extremely comfortable with them.

The clinic is organized and for as busy as it is, you can get moving with treatment pretty quickly. We called in January 2019 and were going through our first IUI cycle by early May. (First consult was February, followed by all sorts of testing for both of us, followed by an additional consult to review the treatment plan). The only issue is how busy the clinic is - when coming in for blood and ultrasounds, I’d always recommend getting the earliest possible appointments, as the waiting room can fill up! But I was never there for more than an hour.

Our insurance is excellent - we only paid copays of $30/visit, including transfers and testing. The medicines were most expensive, at about $300/cycle.

We didn’t get to this point, but because I’m still under 35, with IVF we would have done just a single embryo transfer per IVF cycle.

We had been utilizing Dr Styer and I moved to Dr Souter. Personality wise, I just cliqued with Irene better. My husband liked both. After multiple failed IUIs, I just needed to change something up and moving clinics felt like a huge undertaking. Irene was like a breath of fresh air I needed.

Stay positive!

Dr Souter was always very upfront and positive with us. We had had lots of frustration before (a failed pregnancy and multiple failed IUIs, one failed IVF) and were grateful to start anew with her.

I don't remember exactly but this was our final IVF shot before I moved clinics. The retrieval went well this time and I knew that the transfer was good, the doctor who did it exclaimed it went really well and felt it had a great chance. This positivity helped me as well thinking things went well.

You do not see the same nurse, although all were compassionate. Often MGH is running late and getting there with traffic and work is a stressful experience.

Traffic, parking, and tardiness were a constant with MGH for me. At the time we were living in Brookline so not too far away but I came to despise going to the hospital in the mornings. The earlier appointment the better as less people have been given the chance to be late and push back appointments. I always felt that the person working behind the desk (there was some turnover) was not always the friendliest and sometimes not organized. I often had to inquire if they had forgotten me because they were running so late.

Our insurance didn't cover any treatments.

MGH had recommendations on how many to use given how many times we had tried and my age. We elected for one both times.

Dr. Souter is direct, no-nonsense and matter-of-fact, which I liked. She's pleasant enough, but not super warm and fuzzy if that's what you're looking for. I saw her a couple times before starting my IUIs, but will not see her again until I have done six unsuccessful IUIs (at which time I am eligible for IVF).

If you want a straight shooter, you'll probably like Dr. Souter.

The MGH Fertility Center is part of a large hospital and sees many patients, so they have many systems and routines for patients. For IUIs, I never saw my doctor (the nurses did the IUIs), but they were all warm and pleasant. For ultrasounds, I would see the fertility doctor on call (there are several). So far, I don't have anything negative to say about any of the doctors that i have seen. When you call the fertility center about something, they take your number and you have to wait for a call back from a nurse.

So far, I have done four unsuccessful IUIs. Given my situation, I have to do six IUIs unsuccessfully before my insurance will cover IVF -- so that is the treatment plan I am currently on. I am doing natural cycle IUIs (no medication) with ultrasound monitoring and a trigger shot.

In general, the nursing staff at the MGH Fertility Center have been pleasant. They have done all my IUIs, and I have interacted with them the most throughout my course of treatment. I have had a few negative experiences with Pam, Dr. Souter's primary nurse. She seems a bit scatter-brained, and once left me a voicemail about someone else's test results! She also never remembers my situation or course of treatment, so I always have to explain it to her each time we talk. Perhaps that's part of being seen at a larger hospital-based clinic.

Strengths: Top success rates in Boston, part of one of the country's best hospitals. Weaknesses: It doesn't always feel very personal.

IUIs are $880 each. My medications and ultrasounds were covered by my insurance, as were my office visits.

I will say, my first interaction with Dr. Souter was not ideal. She talked too fast, used lots of jargon, and because I had come to her from another clinic (for IUIs) I think she thought I knew more than I did about IVFs, which can be very different. Occasionally her accent was hard to understand. I am in healthcare and was a little lost. My husband was totally overwhelmed! My second meeting with her one-on-one went much more smoothly and she even turned her computer monitor to show me actual numbers and details, something I very much appreciated. Dr. Souter leans more towards pragmatic and blunt and could improve her bedside manner, but I have not doubted her decisions, protocols or care.

Do your homework. Learn about IVF terminology and the process. Bring a notebook to take notes and go prepared with questions since your time with her is limited. Also, do not be afraid to ask for further clarification if you don't understand something. She is very straightforward. If you are overly sensitive (not that I am not...because who isn't?) then maybe think about another doctor, though I don't know who would be best, maybe Dr. Sabatini. Call to ask the clinic.

My care team was wonderful, even the receptionist remembered my name. They were always current on my case, got excited when news was good, and called to check on me when news was bad. I received hugs and tender touches when I needed them. My personal circumstances aside, almost every interaction I had with team members was extremely positive.

Cycle #1: OCP/Low Dose Lupron. 21 days of Apri birth control. Lupron injection 10 units x 10 days. Lupron injection 5 units x 10 days. Gonal-f 150 IU and Menopur 150 IU injections x 10 days. HCG injection. Ampicillin, Cefoxitin, Methylprednisolone, baby aspirin (81mg), 50 mg IM injection Progesterone. Valium for transfer. Vivelle dots 2 patches every other day. Personally, I did not respond well to this protocol. I only had 5 eggs, 4 were mature, and only 1 fertilized normally. This was transferred and the cycle was not successful. Cycle #2: OCP/Antagonist. 21 days of Apri birth control. Gonal-f 300 IU and Menopur 150 IU injections x 11 days. Ganirelix Acetate pre-filled syringe 250 mcg x 6 days. HCG injection. Ampicillin, Cefoxitin, Methylprednisolone, baby aspirin (81mg), 50 mg IM injection Progesterone. Valium for transfer. Vivelle dots 2 patches every other day. I had a drastically improved response on this protocol . 18 eggs retrieved (even from my quiet ovary), 9 went on to ICSI, 7 fertilized normally, 4 made it to day 5. 1 was transferred and 3 were frozen. I became pregnant, but unfortunately it was ectopic and I had to have surgery to remove my tube. There is a slight increased risk of ectopics with IVF. Cycle #3: Cryopreserved Blastocyst Transfer. 21 days of Apri birth control. Lupron injection 10 units x 28 days. Vivelle dots varying patches every other day x 24+ days. Endometrin tabs 100mg. Ampicillin, Methylprednisolone, baby aspirin (81mg), 50 mg IM injection Progesterone. Valium for transfer. "Textbook cycle and transfer" with 1 frozen embryo, results TBD.

Their compassion and genuine interest in your success!

Strengths: MGH has a ton of experience with IVf and some of the best stats in the state. Dr. Souter works with a team of physicians who coordinate each patients care. Weaknesses: Dr. Souter sees a ton of patients so it can sometimes feel like you're just a number. She also seems to rely on standard MGH protocols so much so that she is unwilling to consider each individual patient's situation.

I think Dr. Souter is generally a good physician. I would just caution prospective patients to get a second opinion if you have several failed IVFs because she seems resitant to protocol change.

Appointments with Dr. Souter sometimes seemed rushed and it was clear she didn't review my chart before my appointments. She was also late for several appointments. I distinctly remember one time we had an appointment with her and she was almost 45 minutes late even though we were the first appointment after lunch. The nurse told us she had car trouble and would be late. When we finally got into her office there was a piece of cake on a paper plate....aka she went to a party or lunch and failed to return on time. This was an appointment where we were supposed to discuss a failed IVF. It made me feel like our loss was unimportant and didn't matter. Another issue I had with Dr. Souter is that she didn't seem to listen to my opinion. We had 3 failed IVFs with her all using the same protocol. I suggested using a different protocol several times and she indicated that my current protocol was the one they always use for patients with PCOS. I later tried the other protocol with a different physician and my egg quality was amazing. One saving grace here is that the nurses were wonderful. While it's almost impossible to get a hold of them without having to leave a message, they are very compassionate and always on the ball.

I did the long lupron protocol for both IVFs with Dr. Souter. I have PCOS and I kept inching towards overresponding with each IVF. I never had good egg quality and none of my embryos made it to blast.

The nurses are really on top of things. They are very knowledgble and able to answer just about any question you throw at them.

The monitoring here was pretty efficient but there were times where you felt like cattle. Unfortunately I think this just illustrates the ebb and flow of a large IVF clinic.

I was very luck and my IVFs were covered 100% by insurance.

On our first meeting, Dr. Souter explained the entire process very throughly and on each subsequent visit, I felt as though I knew what to expect next. I had even run into Dr. Souter out in public in my hometown (A suburb of Boston) and she couldn't have been more pleasant- she knew me by my first name, introduced me to her daughter, interacted with my daughter (and remembered her name) whom was conceived through IVF with Dr. Souter. I couldn't be happier with her as my doctor. After my failed IVF attempt (the second of three attempts), Dr. Souter called me personally to see how I was doing and to make a plan for moving forward with another cycle.

I think if I were to give one piece of advice to a prospective patient, it would be that having a child is a miracle and no matter how good your doctor is, it might not work. You have to have patience with the process.

In the three times I went through IVF with Dr. Souter, I always felt like both she and her team knew me as a person- I met with most of the doctors on the team at MGH Fertility clinic, and have to say each of them made me feel the same way-- very comfortable and as though I was in good hands and that my situation was very important to them.

Very kind and caring and very much on top of things!

Dr. Souter is very direct which I like. She takes the medical care of her patients seriously and is hesitant to start with the most invasive course of action immediately. She also is receptive/concerned with the financial costs.

While she may seem tough, she is there for you when it really matters.

I first visited Dr. Souter in 2015, when I returned in 2016 (nearly 2 year’s later) she remembered me. She is very direct which may come off as harsh but when it matters she is supportive and kind including giving me a hug and holding my hand when learning of a miscarriage.

1 unmediated IUi 2 medicated IUI 1 IVF cycle (flare) Low ovarian reserve

All but one nurse showed compassion during the process. They are generally very responsive (you need to call and leave a message) and call back within a few hours. They were knowledgeable and very helpful. I worked with the nurses more than the dr during the process.

Strengths: they are very organized which helps with as much planning is possible during this process. US & bW happen in the morning followed by IUIs and then iVf and appts are a bit later. They are open 7 days /wk even during bad weather Weakness: there are many patients coming and going, it is a busy practice.

Co-pays

They have a chart that outlines how many embryos will be transferred during each cycle.

She is extremely knowledgeable and friendly and takes her time with you answering all questions. However she ups your anxiety about when I got a positive for a possible genetic issue that was not big deal when I went to genetic counseling. She was also pretty pessimistic about my 15% of getting pregnant. Statistics include both when with issues and women who are just older. Many women in my family got pregnant naturally in their 40's. I just didn't have a partner. I was not surprised when I got pregnant on the first ivf try.

Go to her because she is good but know that she can make you a bit anxious and is overly cautious to not get your hopes up.

The clinic is small, the nurses call you back quickly, Dr answered all my questions and took ample time, she was friendly.

Standard ivf - patches, suppositories, and PIO injections.

They responded quickly to calls but did not provide a video to teach you how to inject meds. I had to watch YouTube videos to learn.

You get more personalized care because it's small. The doctors are extremely knowledgeable. They don't do more extreme procedures like other places but I think that's a good thing because the priority is to keep you healthy.

$10000

She said to transfer two embryos to give me a chance.