Doctor Senapati is very good at clearly and patiently explaining things, and takes a very matter-of-fact approach...The only reservation I had about her was that my husband and I chose to take a less conventional approach to IVF for religious reasons. We elected to inseminate only a small number of eggs to reduce the chances of excess embryos. We didn't feel like Dr. Senapati always fully understood how important this priority was to us, and we knew she didn't agree with our approach.
Penn Fertility Care is a huge, efficient practice. Almost everyone I encountered was very warm and kind, but it did mean that almost every visit involved a different practitioner who wasn't familiar with me and my history. My doctor was always available to me by phone, and I knew she was always making the key decisions about my care, but I seldom saw her in person. The biggest downside is that occasionally someone would communicate inaccurate or inconsistent information to me, so I really had to be on top of my own care and advocate for myself
How was your experience with Suneeta Senapati at Penn Fertility Care?
Doctor Senapati is very good at clearly and patiently explaining things, and takes a very matter-of-fact approach. I always felt very comfortable asking questions, and she never made me feel rushed when we were discussing my care. I always felt like I had a good grasp of the steps we were taking and the reasons behind them.
The only reservation I had about her was that my husband and I chose to take a less conventional approach to IVF for religious reasons. We elected to inseminate only a small number of eggs to reduce the chances of excess embryos. We didn't feel like Dr. Senapati always fully understood how important this priority was to us, and we knew she didn't agree with our approach. In the end, we took a path we were comfortable with, but not before we experienced some (respectful) pushback.
In summary: If you've got personal ethical concerns about fertility treatments/IVF, consider another doctor who might better understand where you're coming from. If what you want is an expert walking you through your care step by step, she's a great choice.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Suneeta Senapati at Penn Fertility Care?
Don't hesitate to ask questions at any point! She's going to explain a TON of information to you, which can quickly get overwhelming and make decisions difficult. So ask about anything that's unclear, and request to go over something again if you didn't fully grasp it the first time. She'll never make you feel dumb for asking more questions.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Suneeta Senapati at Penn Fertility Care?
Penn Fertility Care is a huge, efficient practice. Almost everyone I encountered was very warm and kind, but it did mean that almost every visit involved a different practitioner who wasn't familiar with me and my history. My doctor was always available to me by phone, and I knew she was always making the key decisions about my care, but I seldom saw her in person. The biggest downside is that occasionally someone would communicate inaccurate or inconsistent information to me, so I really had to be on top of my own care and advocate for myself, which could get tiring.
Overall, I was comfortable with Penn Fertility Care because I trusted that they had the best resources and expertise available, but someone who would be bothered by the level of personal attention might want to consider a smaller practice.
Describe the protocols Suneeta Senapati used in your cycles at Penn Fertility Care and their degree of success.
Dr. Senapati understood that I wanted to avoid IVF if at all possible, so we exhausted every approach to IUI first. Unfortunately, my extremely sensitive ovaries made this difficult. After I overreacted to even the lowest dose of Clomid, we switched to Letrozole cycles. After I underreacted to even the highest dose of Letrozole, we switched to a hybrid Letrozole+Gonal F cycle. When that didn't work, we used exclusively Gonal F because the dosage can be calibrated so precisely. In the end, we did 14 hormone cycles, with 7 cancelled cycles and 7 IUIs. At that point she recommended we discontinue IUI, so we switched to IVF and I got pregnant after my first embryo transfer.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Penn Fertility Care. (Assigned nurse: Erin)
Erin is great at explaining things and demonstrating medication protocols in a way I could understand. Overall, the nursing staff at Penn Fertility Care made me feel very comfortable and taken care of.
Describe Suneeta Senapati's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Penn Fertility Care.
Dr. Senapati's preferences for single embryo transfer aligned with my own, so we didn't have to discuss it much. From what we did discuss, I felt confident that it was the best choice for my health and for my pregnancy goals. I also felt that the choice was my own and I could have gone a different way if I'd wanted to.
What specific things went wrong at Penn Fertility Care?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Penn Fertility Care.
During my IVF cycle, a nurse did not order one of my medications from the pharmacy correctly, and I didn't realize I was missing it until hours before I was supposed to take it. This could have been a crisis, but the care team worked with me to get me a replacement, so it all worked out.
This was the only major, avoidable problem I had in a year-plus of treatment, so overall I can say that they're a very well-run and organized practice.
9
Clinic
Penn Fertility Care
Philadelphia - Market