Institute for Reproductive Health (US Fertility Network clinic)

Here's my recommendation for anyone going to IRH - Remember that you have ultimate control and decision-making authority when going through your treatment. IRH does a ton of work, but you have to do your part as well. Here are a few examples: (1) Medications - Follow up to make sure it gets sent to the pharmacy. If it doesn't, call back and make sure it gets sent. My most recent cycle, if I hadn't called to make sure it was sent, I would not have gotten my medication on time. (2) Treatments - The doctors tell you the treatment they recommend or suggest, but sometimes you have to go with what's best for you. For example, they like IVF better than Injections & IUI because the can control the outcomes better, but if IVF isn't in your budget, don't feel pressured to move to that treatment. After our Femara treatments, Dr. A recommended IVF, but we weren't yet ready to move to that treatment. So, we did a few cycles with Gonal F and IUI before moving to IVF. We eventually did move to IVF with PGS testing because we wanted to reduce the risk of miscarriage after I had 2. Another example would be during my IVF cycle, I didn't respond well to the injections and had a less than ideal follicle count. Dr. A advised us that many couples choose to pass on the PGS testing and do a fresh embryo transfer because of the inherent risk of walking away with nothing with the PGS testing, which is significantly more expensive. I was freaked out and worried for days, but went with my instincts to do the PGS testing anyway because my main goal was not to get pregnant, but to reduce the risk of miscarriage and get pregnant with a viable embryo. I'm glad I followed my instincts because both embryos ended up being abnormal. I know he was just making sure I understood all of my options, but it's important to evaluate what they're telling you against your own treatment objectives and desired outcomes. (3) Pay Attention - After my cancelled IVF Cycle due to poor response, we were getting ready to begin my 2nd cycle and the nurse pulled out my medication schedule from my first cycle. If I wouldn't have been paying attention, I would not have been taking the correct dose. Another example is from my 2nd IVF Cycle with PGS testing we were doing my pre-retrieval information review and the nurse advised us to have intercourse (big no-no with PGS testing). She was under the assumption that due to my less than ideal response we might do a fresh transfer (something I was adamant about not doing) so she started giving us instructions for that instead of PGS. I caught it but was really freaked out after that and asked to have another nurse review the information with me again. Bottom line, if something doesn't seem right or sound right, speak up and ask for clarification. They do the best they can to get you the best treatment they can, but it's also your responsibility to take charge of your care.

I believe there was one time that the clinic had not called in a prescription refill before I had contacted the pharmacy to order. However, I am not 100% sure that I recall this correctly!

The only "failure" I had on the nurses part was that I was waiting for the results of my beta, and I had to call at the end of the day to get the results. The nurse who called back said that she was sorry that she had not called earlier with the results. Also, the bedside manner of Dr. Burwinkel is not as good as the Dr's at my old clinic.

Medications were not ordered in a timely manner

The misinformation occured when our second ivf cycle failed and the next steps that were suggested were to PGS with the next retrieval cycle. However, after our failed FET a year later the next steps weren't to use PGS testing, but instead we needed donor eggs to proceed with IVF. Nonetheless, a natural pregnancy occurred less then three months after the FET chemical pregnancy.

Prescriptions were really hard to relay to my pharmacy. I had to be redosed every cycle- sometimes they forgot to call in, or my new cycle started on a weekend and I could get a hold of them.

The business office is difficult to reach. Other than that the clinic is great!

When our only egg didn’t fertilize the doctors didn’t reach out for a follow up, we had to and then was put on a 2 month wait for that appointment. No doctors called after our embryo transfer turned into a chemical either. We felt like they just took our money and didn’t care if it worked or why it didn’t. There were two appointments we paid for (and took off work for) that we had to redo because of their mistakes, had us down for IUI on day one, needed IVF; husband needed his sperm to be frozen but they threw it out. The worst part of all of the SEVERAL mistakes was that we were told our donor embryos were good & great but once we got our records we saw that they were rated good & poor.

The stimulation and retrieval went smoothly. It was more the before and after counseling process. More specifically, I had no idea egg quality was such a critical and also, according to recent studies, an modifiable factor. This is something I would have made changes to my lifestyle for months before my IVF attempt in preparation. I truly believe this could have changed my outcomes. Especially with my chromosomal abnormality that already sets me up for poor egg quality. I’m not sure if Dr. Burwinkel was well versed in these types of issues or did not buy into the concept of improving egg quality.

We were not informed of the options before our procedures, specifically ICSI and transfer strategy for optimal results. When asking questions it was hard to get consistent answers across nurses.

One of the nurses called after my retrieval and told me the proposed day for transfer and steps to take for my fresh embryo transfer, after I’d been told I was going to be a freeze all due to ovarian hyperstimulation. She called two different times trying to tell me this same plan.