Jennifer Kawwass

Dr Kawwass was very thorough and communicative. She took time to make sure I understood the process and had the support I needed. I didn’t see her every visit, but she did answer all emails and checked in on me frequently. She was a great patient advocate when I went in for surgeries and procedures.

The initial visit is overwhelming, and Dr Kawwass is straightforward, so ask as many questions as you want and she’ll take the time to go through everything.

Dr Kawwass took the time to hear my concerns and treat me as a human being. Her entire staff knew me, checked in on me and became my support system. Dr Kawwass always answered my emails and took the time I needed to answer all questions. She showed genuine care for me.

Clomid, femara and combined with metformin. IUIs as progressive treatment. Not recommended more than three, as results don’t improve. Injections as last resort given percentage of success balanced with cost vs other option.

Sometimes the nurse could be disorganized - sending scripts to wrong pharmacy, not including all medications or miscalendaring dosages. That made me feel like a number. However, she took the time to speak with me at length several times a week to walk through instructions and always promptly corrected any issues.

I like that it’s a teaching clinic. Long wait times on day of appointment and schedulers frequently made errors. Make sure to confirm appointment time online. Billing is very confusing, but Tereon is helpful.

16k for retrieval and two transfers.

Preference for single transfer.

I loved ERC!!! Dr. Kawwass is very knowledgeable, informative, positive, and involved throughout the process. She takes the time to answer all of your questions, and is very upfront. We went through 3 stim cycles and after the second failed she even contacted me over the weekend to see how I was doing and to give recommendations for the next cycle – which was successful! I appreciate the fact that each stim cycle was different in terms of the medication protocol that was used. I could tell the team was reviewing my chart and making adjustments based on how my body responded each time. (The last reproductive center my husband and I were at kept using the same methods each time, and didn’t bother to alter anything even though we weren’t getting any results. It made us feel like they just wanted to keep our hopes up and take our money.)

Don't expect to see her every visit; however, you're in great hands with the other staff members who will be providing you with your primary care for that particular visit, i.e. sonographers and phlebotomists. If you happen to have more questions, they're great about asking you if you'd like to speak with a Nurse before you leave. She goes into great detail about your plan of action and how the overall process works during your intake appointment. You're in great hands with Dr. Kawwass.

I felt like a human because Dr. Kawwass contacted me over the weekend after a failed stim cycle to see how I was feeling, and to give me recommendations for the next cycle. I appreciate the fact that each protocol was changed based on how my body responded each time. They weren't choosing cookie-cutter protocols. They tailored them to meet my needs.

1st Stim Cycle - 75 iu Menopur 2x's/day, 450 units Follistim 1x/day - Produced 4 eggs, 0 fertilized, 2nd Stim Cycle - 75 iu Menopur 2x's/day, 450 units Follistim 1x/day, and Lupron - Did not produce eggs large enough for retrieval 3rd Stim Cycle - Clomid, menopur, 150 units follistim, Cetrotide - Produced 9 eggs, 7 fertilized, 4 embryos

The nurses were friendly and very thorough. My husband and I went through 3 cycles, and I would recommend that patients receive new schedules for each cycle. I didn't receive one my last cycle, and didn't know I was supposed to start taking one of my medications on a certain day because I was used to the nurse telling me and I typically had a sheet to follow. It was an error on both of our parts, but it was resolved quickly - I was able to get a new calendar via the portal.

Emory uses Patient Portal so patients and doctors can communicate. All of my messages were answered in a timely manner! It’s a very convenient system. The waiting room area is quiet, clean, and modern. The front desk staff is very professional and friendly! One thing I loved about Emory is that no matter who you saw that day as you checked in, got your ultrasound or lab work completed - EVERYONE was professional and friendly. To them you’re more than your patient number, you become a part of their family and they’re there to make sure all of your questions are answered and your journey is as pleasant as possible.

Monitoring appointments were scheduled during the morning hours so they could contact you that afternoon about your status and when you should begin taking other meds or do your trigger shot. You simply checked in and you were buzzed back within 5 or so minutes for your ultrasound. The only time the wait was longer than usual was when the computer system was on the fritz. Other than that, the staff was always efficient.

ERC offers various financial packages. It depends on how many transfers and cycles you'd like to purchase.

The process explained to us was if we did a day 5 transfer, they'd transfer 1 embryo. If we did a day 3 transfer, they'd transfer 2 embryos. We were given the option to do a day 3 or 5 transfer.

Very knowledgeable and passionate. I felt very comfortable and confident working with her. She communicated well and did a great job explaining the details of the procedures and processes that we underwent.

Ask any and all questions that you have. She'll answer them and put you at ease.

The IVF orientation process at the Emory Reproductive Center is very thorough. Dr. Kawwass did a great job explaining everything in a way that we could understand. She took the time to answer any questions we had and made sure we were comfortable with the entire IVF process.

Dr. Kawwass prescribed a high dose protocol for egg stimulation including Menopur and Gonal F. Since we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility, she recommended that we do ICSI. My progesterone started to increase earlier than anticipated, so our retrieval was scheduled a few days earlier than anticipated. 10 eggs were retrieved, 5 were mature and only 2 fertilized. Due to only having 2 embryos, Dr. Kawwass recommended a day 2 transfer of both embryos. The Embryologist discussed the options of transferring 1 vs. 2 embryos the morning of the transfer. We decided to only transfer one and allow the other to mature to day 5 (which it did!) before freezing. After the transfer I used Estradiol patches and Progesterone shots. This IVF round was successful and I now have a 4 week old healthy baby boy!

Everyone was very compassionate, kind, and competent.

Very welcoming, friendly staff. Nice facility. It takes a 10-15 minutes to find a parking spot and travel from the parking deck to the clinic. Parking is $5. You get some parking vouchers during your IVF cycle when you're going quite often. The Emory Patient Portal makes it very easy to ask non-emergent questions of your Dr. and nurses at any time. They will reply to messages or call you after hours and on the weekends.

I am fortunate to have some insurance coverage for infertility and IVF services. We used the maximum amount of that benefit (I think it was $10,000). After insurance I believe we payed Emory about $13,000 plus $7,000 for medication.

Dr. Kawwass recommended we transfer both embryos since we only had 2 to increase our chances. The Embryologist discussed our options with us the morning of the transfer. My husband and I decided to only transfer one embryo and we are confident that was the correct decision for us.

Dr. Kawwass is amazing. It is clear she really loves what she does. She never rushed us and was sure to answer every question we had. She (and all the fellows) explain EVERYTHING so clearly. At all times you know exactly what they are doing, how and why they are doing it. It makes all of those invasive procedures feel better because you understand what is going on. Also, I love how knowledgeable Dr. Kawwass is in current fertility studies. The best way I can describe the kind of doctor she is, is by telling you about our failed transfer. This was our 2nd failed attempt, but first with her. The nurse from Emory called to give me the news as soon as the results came in, and told me Dr. Kawwass would call the next week (it was Friday). However, I got a call from Dr. Kawwass just to express her condolences and "send me a hug". This meant so much to me, I could tell she was truly upset by the result as well. She is so smart and compassionate if anyone is going to get me to the best end result, I believe it will be her.

The doctors, and fellows are fabulous; however, you have to be on top of ordering you medicine on time. This may be more of an issue for me as I am an out of state patient and have to do outside monitoring. At my previous clinic my nurses were on top of the medication, showed you how to take it, and knew exactly where to order it. At Emory, I have to tell the nurses when I need the prescription increased and where to put the orders. With all that being said, I believe it is worth it to have the knowledge of the Emory doctors. One thing I love is all the doctors have a meeting to discuss your case, so you have the opinions of multiple doctors, not just one.

Emory is the second clinic we have gone to, but we visited 4 clinics total. From the first minute we met Dr. Kawwass she felt like a friend, not just a doctor. It was very clear she wanted us to have a baby, not just gain a new patient. Also, the waiting room is never full (like most private clinics), and I have never waited more than 10 minutes from my appointment time (usually they pull me back early).

For my IVF I was on the highest does of Gonal F (450 IU) and Menopur (150 IU). I ended up stimulating for 12 days, and we used Ganirelix for 5. This produced 12 follicles (almost twice the amount of my first IVF) and we got 9 eggs. Out of the 9 eggs, we got 7 embryos. After the retrieval, I began 2 estrogen patches (changed every other day) and 1mL Progesterone shot. We ended up transferring 2 fresh embryos on day 3, and freezing 4 embryos (one embryo did not make it to day 3). We decided to do this since there is so much attrition between day 3 and 5, and we really wanted some to freeze. We are now preparing for a Frozen transfer. All my meds have been increased. I will be building up to 4 estrogen patches before the transfer. We will also do 3 days of Ganirelix. After the transfer, we will continue the estrogen patches, 2mL Progesterone shot, and 3 progesterone tablets. Hopefully we will get a good result this time. This will be our first frozen transfer.

The nurses are all very nice and compassionate. I never saw many nurses, but talk to them a lot. I was not assigned a particular nurse to I have talked to many of them. As I mentioned earlier sometimes I have to help them with where all my prescriptions go, and if I need refills.

Strengths - Doctors, Fellows, and scheduling (they are open year round, which means weekend appointments, and IVF all year). Weaknesses - They don't hold your hand as much through the medication process. Again I stress, in my opinion the strengths outweigh the weaknesses by a mile.

I have good insurance, so my monitoring and medicine was covered. We purchased a plan through Emory that included IVF and 1 FET. This was approximately $14k. We also did ICSI ($1.5k) and Assisted Embryo Hatching ($1.5). My meds were just a $300 co-pay.

Dr. Kawwass, like most doctors, opts for a single embryo transfer. The only reason we did two was my previous two embryo transfer failed, and the fact we did a day 3 versus day 5 transfer. We will be unfreezing 2 embryos for the frozen transfer in case one does not make it.

I cannot say enough about how much my husband and I have enjoyed working with Dr. Kawwass. She always took the time to explain to us our treatment options and probability of success. We were always seen on time for our appointments, which is important if you have a busy work schedule. She is readily reachable via the patient portal, a phone call to the clinic, and through her nurse.

Trust her! She is up to date on the IVF literature and incredibly smart. She will not suggest something unless she thinks there is a reason to do so.

Dr. Kawwass is a wonderful physician. She took the time to explain our treatment plan and options available to us. She personally called me multiple times to discuss our treatment plans. She understands the emotional toll IVF takes on a couple and I could tell that she genuinely cared about our feelings during the IVF process. It is rare to find a physician that is so incredibly smart/up to date and who also has a wonderful bedside manner.

We had a hard time getting the lining of my uterus thick enough for transfer. We tried different estrogen combinations to thicken up my lining. I liked that the clinic adjusted my medications when I was not having success with the original protocol.

Lutissa is amazing! She is so responsive on the patient portal. I knew that if I wrote her she would get back to me within 24 hours (most of the time I had a response in a couple of hours). She gives very clear instructions and is incredibly knowledgable about treatment protocols. I knew that I was in good hands with her and she had excellent communication skills.

It is clean, the staff is incredibly friendly, the techs are wonderful, and the waiting room has great magazines and a TV. It is an academic hospital so expect to see residents and fellows around. All of the residents and fellows are wonderful. It is nice to receive care in an academic setting because you know that they will be providing the most up to date care. It is annoying to have to go all the way up to the 18th floor for a 10 minute monitoring appointment and you have to pay for parking which can get expensive.

Approximately 27K for a fresh donor egg cycle plus 1 FET cycle. 27K included the contact I purchased through ARC and the donor's medication

Dr. Kawwass was amazingly supportive and gave me her direct email address and phone number to use if I ever needed it. I did on occasion and she was always available to make the process easier on me. She wants you to succeed and is open to trying new approaches as treatments progress.

Jennifer Kawwass, and other Emory Reproductive Center doctors, seem conservative with their protocol for deciding how many embryos to transfer. I don't know this from personal experience, but have heard from friends of similar age and medical issues that there was more risk for multiples taken on during their treatments. I was only allowed to transfer two day 5 embryos after my second retrieval and two failed transfers. I have multiple friends who did two day 5 embryos (some even PGS screened) on their first retrieval and transfer.

After being diagnosed with unexplained infertility, I had four IUI's and two IVF egg retrievals with three embryo transfers performed at Emory Reproductive Center over the course of the last 1.5 years. None of the procedures resulted in a pregnancy. My primary doctor was Jennifer Kawwass. I chose to receive care from Emory because of their overall level of education and expertise compared to other clinics in the Atlanta area. Not only do you receive attention from some of the most highly qualified specialists in the country, but you also work with doctors doing fellowships who are young, bright, eager and up-to-date on the latest research. Between IUI's and IVF I went to GRS to receive IVF treatment (which didn't lead to pregnancy either) because I wanted to try somewhere new and different. But, I ended up going back to Emory because I felt that the doctors were smarter and more invested in my success. When treatments failed, I felt like they were experiencing the failure with me. The Emory system is big and bureaucratic, creating administrative and logistical hassles that you might not receive at other private clinics. But, for me, I decided I was ok dealing with them because at the end of the day what mattered most was the decisions my doctors made and the quality of the procedures I received from medical staff. Dr. Kawwass was amazingly supportive and gave me her direct email address and phone number to use if I ever needed it. I did on occasion and she was always available to make the process easier on me.

I did two retrievals with the same approach. Both utilized Lupron to suppress my ovaries and I stimulated egg production with Follistim AQ and Menopur. This worked very well and I had an excellent response both times. I was very, very happy with the egg retrieval outcome specifically, which created about 20 each time. At a different clinic (GRS) where I also did a retrieval, I had a different protocol that was much less successful. The unsuccessful protocol was Cetrotide to suppress ovaries with Menopur and Bravelle to stimulate egg production. On this protocol I grew a lead follicle that kept the others from maturing. I only got six eggs from that retrieval.

For my second retrieval I was able to pick which nurse I wanted to work with. I chose Helen because I had previously met her and liked her style. For most of the communications during the retrieval and transfer processes, Helen was the person I spoke with or emailed with. She is attentive, response and accomplishes all the fundamental responsibilities of the primary nurse. There are other nursing staff at Emory that are not as helpful as Helen, but I did my best to avoid interacting with them and was mostly successful with this.

The Emory system is big and bureaucratic, creating administrative and logistical hassles that you might not receive at other private clinics. As a whole the nursing staff is not as educated or experienced in fertility medicine as the other clinic (GRS) I utilized. It didn't seem like the nurses had a specialty, per se, in fertility medicine which gave me pause and I ended up second guessing their directions. The Emory doctors, however, are amazing and the primary reason why I chose to receive treatment at the clinic. They seem to be some of the best and brightest minds in the field and also are emotionally invested in outcomes.

Dr. Kawwass was compassionate and great at educating us on our issues, options and risks. We felt confident that we were getting quality care from an educator that truly wanted to help us opposed to someone that was more interested in profit and hitting the highest numbers.

Be patient. This is a stressful process. But also ask as many questions needed. They have an online portal and you can email the staff and doctors your questions at any time. Very responsive.

Dr. Kawwass was compassionate and warm in her interactions with us. She thoroughly explained the process and went over our chances with each method. She didn’t talk down to us or made us feel uncomfortable. Nor did she make the practice feel like they were only there to take our money. They left decisions up to us and educated us on our options.

We were given the option of IUI or going straight to IVF. Since I didn’t want to be too aggressive in treatment just yet, figured IUI would be the best route. I do have endometriosis and should have just jumped into IVF. But Dr. Kawwass allowed us to be empowered in making our own decision yet while at the same time sharing our potential chances with the methods. We didn’t feel pressured which helped a lot. After IUI did not work, we went with IVF and treatment was not adjusted too much from what was planned.

Overall the nursing staff was great. They all were very helpful and answered questions when I had them.

The clinic staff is great! They all were very friendly and accommodating. Had no issues with billing. And when we were financially responsible for certain parts of our treatment, they did share with us early on that we would owe out of pocket. So I appreciated the transparency and letting me know when items were covered or not. Scheduling can be a bit of a challenge because it is through their central switchboard. Or at least it was when I last had treatment here. That can be inconvenient if you need to get an appointment as soon as possible.

It’s nice that you had a set appointment time. But tough when it’s only during certain hours. The patient has to be flexible.

Very reasonable. I have a friend who went through IVF same time I did and she was at another clinic. I learned she paid a lot more than I did and she was shocked how expensive her clinic was. Also fortunate that my insurance also covered the ultrasounds.

Reasoning was justified due to my age and endometriosis.

Oh, man! I provided specific examples in my previous narrative.

I don't have anything bad to say. Dr. Kawwass is an excellent, competent, compassionate physician, who ALSO has a sense of humor! I forgot to add that previously.

During our consult to begin IVF, Jennifer said something like, "because this is so emotionally charged"... it was then I began crying, BECAUSE THIS IS. I love that she acknowledged that and kept that in mind as she walked us through the entire process. She is such a real, authentic person who genuinely loves what she does and wants to see every patient succeed and become pregnant. Also, she is very knowledgeable and competent. I crave physicians who are up to date on literature, protocol, recommendations. This is also something that attracted me to Emory in the first place. Jennifer, and all the doctors at Emory RE, genuinely care about their patients.

I don't remember the KIND of protocol we used with IVF/ICSI. I do remember that I was on the max doses of Follistim and Menopur, twice a day. When I did research online of other women with DOR, I noticed that my protool was very conservative and aggressive. We got 8 eggs, and 4 embryos, one transferred on day 5 resulting in a baby girl born in April 2016. Update From My Clinic: "You were on a maximum dose standard down regulation lupron protocol. (Lupron, FSH 225 twice a day and menopur 75 twice a day). We chose this protocol because of your diminished ovarian reserve - we anticipated that you would need a high dose."

Lutissa was really wonderful, calm, reassuring, and knowledgeable.

Some difficult things about Emory are getting there, parking, and PAYING FOR PARKING, and hoofing it to the 18th floor. The great thing is, everyone there is super great about you being late for appts, because, Atlanta.

I believe a fresh cycle costs 14, 500k.

Dr. Kawwass is compassionate, caring and sensitive to the needs of patients experiencing trouble conceiving the child they desire. She is there when you need her. She helps you get through the tough times and celebrate the victories.

Come prepared with questions, goals and objectives. She is open and honest and will answer all of your questions to the best of her ability.

She cared about my personal journey, getting to know both my husband and I and our goals and desires.

Initially we tried a low dose of letrozole for ovulation induction with timed intercourse for two cycles. That did not work so we then tried letrozole with IUI. Each cycle my husband's semen count was lower and lower which led her to refer him for evaluation too. Now we are in the process of proceeding with IVF since four IUIs did not result in pregnancy.

All of the nurses are caring and thorough. They respond promptly and answer questions well. They are on your team rooting for you to succeed throughout the process. They are an integral part of the care team and experience.

The clinic is strong in research, IVF and availability. They are able to get a substantial number of patients pregnant through treatment cycles. They are weak in availability sometimes on the weekends.

My insurance does not cover most infertility costs so medications were not covered but ultrasounds and IUIs were. I had to pay for all medications and any other things that were part of the IVF process

Dr. Kawwass is very clear about the need for eSET and recommends it avidly throughout your care.

Dr. Kawwass is good communicator and has warm bedside manners. She did explain the issue at hand and specified the risk associated with the process. Getting an appointment with the doctor is tough as she is quite busy.

Ask Dr. Kawwass to perform the procedure herself rather than giving it to some nurse

Her words were encouraging and she tried to calm me as well as explain the issue at hand.

Clomid 24 Hr prior to process Injection in the stomach IUI

Clinic is quite neat and well maintained but is located in a sky scraper, the elevator of which is very annoying. The place is more expensive than other places so unless one is covered by Insurance one should look for other places

840 for IUI

Dr. Kawwass was wodnderful, she explained everything to my husband and I. She took the time to ask how we were and to discuss everything I wanted to know. We could call or message her with all questions.

Don’t feel embarrassed to ask, she’s there to help you.

I was talked to as a human, sat down with, talked to on the phone and really respected through the process.

The nursing staff made me feel so comfortable and helped me in anyway they could.

The clinic was very easy to work with as well as to access the needed information. The front office staff was friendly and helpful and made me feel comfortable every time I came in. They helped me get through such a hard time. I have already referred several friends to the clinic.