Northwestern Fertility & Reproductive Medicine

I was referred to Dr. Pavone by a co-worker who had a good experience with her. I unfortunately did not have a single positive interaction with her and regret not switching doctors sooner. I understand that infertility is a very indepth and complicated area of medicine to practice. I respect doctors that can be blunt and straightforward, but also appreciate empathy and heartfelt support. Dr. Pavone acted like a robot at each appointment. She never asked how I was feeling or asked for my opinion. Because I suffered from eating disorders in the past, I felt that Dr. Pavone blamed me for my infertility problems. While they may have contributed to it, I went into early menopause at 25 and that was unrelated to any previous issue I had. Dr. Pavone did do an HSG to check for issues but should have also checked my uterus with a hysteroscopy, but she didn’t. Because of that, I had three unsuccessful medicated IUI’s that never could have worked because of polyps and scar tissue on my uterus. I believe Dr. Pavone was quick to write off many of my symptoms and didn’t look into things as much as she should have. She decided on a route of treatment very quickly and didn’t seem to take my opinions or that of previous doctors into account. I was a poor responder to my first round of medication. She upped my Menopur dosage so much and so quickly that I suffered from ovarian hyper stimulation. I called her office for days saying I was in a lot of pain and she said it was normal and brushed off my complaints. I finally told a nurse I needed to be seen and they said they would try to squeeze me in. I ended up waiting for 4 hours in the waiting room before they remembered I was there. Dr. Pavone was not apologetic about my wait. Once she realized how swollen my ovaries were, she did apologize but didn’t change my dosage.

I would never recommend that anyone work with Dr. Pavone. However, if they decided to, I would recommend that they act as a strong advocate for themselves. I wish I had stood up to Dr. Pavone and fought for myself. Dr. Pavone is very quick to make judgements and is not very open to other opinions. She does not care about her patients on an emotional level, so someone who needs a caring doctor should not work with Dr. Pavone.

She did 3 medicated IUIs and upped my dosage each time. She never did a scan of my uterus. Had she done so, she would have known that polyps and scar tissue blocked an embryo from implanting

Dr. Marsh is friendly and seemed very knowledgeable, but the appointments felt rushed. My biggest issue with her was there no protocol in place for what to do when I got a negative pregnancy test. It was me who had to call the clinic frantic that my period had started and I didn't know what meds to take for the upcoming month.

Be prepared to never be able to reach her. You can only directly call the 2 gatekeepers (receptionists) whose sole function is to take a message to pass it on to a nurse. Get ready to have your phone with you at all times so when the nurse calls you back 48 hours later you answer. If you don't answer, you have to start the process all over again of first calling the gatekeepers. The one time I asked for Dr Marsh specifically it took her 2 weeks to call me back because she was in Italy, but the staff never let me know there would be a delay.

We did 3 months of IUIs with chomid or femara. She suggested doing 3 months of IUIs before IVF mainly because insurance requires it. She admitted if chlomid doesn't work in the first few months it probably won't work. She was very knowledgeable. Were going to move on to IVF but I switched before then because Northwestern had a low success rate for IVF for women aged 38-39.

Dr Barnes is incredibly warm as a person, though is bedside manner is a bit old school. I felt that once I had 1 failed cycle, my protocol was not changed prior to my second cycle. In between my 2 cycles, he discovered I had anemia. Anemia is perhaps the FIRST thing that should be tested for anytime you give blood so it was frustrating that it took an entire IVF cycle to discover this. Due to the anemia, Dr Branes wanted to do further testing to rule out internal bleeding since I showed no signs of anemia. This resulted in a colonoscopy and endoscopy which both came back clear. From there, Dr Barnes didnt have any other explanations as to why my first cycle failed so we moved forward with my second cycle - which also resulted in an early miscarriage. After 2 failed cycles I decided to move on to another clinic. We transfered our 1 frozen embryo when we left.

Be your own advocate. This would be my advice with any Dr, but especially with doctors at NW who barely know your name let alone your case.

I started my protocol with 3 months of timed intercourse on Clomid. Each month resulted in a negative pregnancy test. I then moved onto IUI. The first 3 cycles were on Clomid. Each resulted in a negative test. Each month on Clomid Dr Barnes bumped up my dosage, yet I only had 1 or 2 viable follicles each month. After 3 cycles of IUI on Clomid and little reaction, Dr Barnes put me on Femara. We did 2 cycles on Femara, both resulting in a negative pregnancy test. Dr Barnes wanted me to do a 6th cycle of IUI, but we insisted we move to IVF. We did our first round of IVF which resulted in 2 quality embryos. My husband and I had decided in advance of our fresh transfer that we wanted to put 2 embryos in, however at NW their Dr's rotate and on the day of my transfer, a Dr Kazer was on rotation. He came into the room prior to transfer to confirm we had 2 viable embryos and when we let him know we wanted to transfer both, he basically used his scare tactics to force us into only putting in 1 embryo. I feel like this is a result of both his bedside manner, and the fact that NW does not like multiple pregnancies and look down upon transferring more than one embryo. We felt almost bullied and defeated and when I got pregnant, then quickly had a miscarriage, we regretted not following our hearts and transferring two. During our second IVF cycle, we insisted they allow us to transfer two. Again, Dr Barnes was not the Dr that did the procedure. This time it was Dr Robins who also tried to convince us to transfer one, but we stuck to our guns and transferred 2. Dr Robins is also a fan of 3-day transfers which did not sit right with me, but at the time of transfer, being hormonal and vulnerable, unfortunately you often listen to the Drs as opposed to following your gut.

Cattle call with numbers

IVF was $10k per cycle. IUI was $700. This was the out of pocket (cash) cost.

Dr. Kazer was kind and compassionate. He was upfront with all information clearly set objectives. He was confident and professional while maintaining a good bedside manner. He always returned phone calls and called with test results himself.

Make an appointment with him. He knows his profession and is an amazing doctor.

With my son, we used clomid first to stimulate growth. We then moved on to IUI. Again we used clomid and injections to release the eggs. We had 3 IUI resulting in 1 single successful pregnancy. When I went back to see Dr. Kazer to conceive again, we went directly to IUI. Clomid and an injection to release eggs. After one failed IUI, we began the IVF process. I cannot remember the drug names. I used some hormonal injections to grow eggs. We did the retrieval and progesterone shots following. I had 2 single transfers of embryos and then transferred 2 embryos resulting in multiple(twin) pregnancy.

It was very efficient. Hours of availability made the process easier.

My insurance covered most everything. We needed to pay for freezing and testing sperm. We needed to pay with co-pays for hormone pills and injections.

Dr. Kazer gave me the choice for the eSET and then recommended the multiple embryo transfer when the 2 eSET were unsuccessful

As a strength for me was his complete candor. I can see how if you wanted more care that his style may not blend. It was ideal for us. There were times that another doctor did a transfer but at that point I was confident in the full team and saw no issue with using another team member.

Ask how many Confino babies there are - so many.... If you don't like direct, use another doctor. If you are mater a fact he's a super fit.

We started with oral meds to stimulate ovulation results. We quickly detected a cyst on an ovary that was going to be drained. Upon consult with another doctor there was concern of cancer. It was removed via laperscopic surgery when Stage 4 endometrious was discovered. That accelerated treatment after healing into IVF. One IVF process was successful for a couple weeks before miscarriage. We then took time under medical process to suppress my system (mini-menopause) so we might have a better shot at the next round of IVF. That healing and suppressing journey added time. From there we tried one more time on IVF and just could not produce viable eggs that could sustain. This far into the journey we were open to the idea of egg donation. We interviewed two companies and begin that new journey. Our first donor was rejected by the clinic on the day of extraction because she admitted to smoking. We were heart broken and had to start over. We would have used her eggs but the clinic has strict expectations. Our next donor and implantation was success - 2 in and 2 out.

It was handled very efficiently in my opinion

Don't really recall. It was very expensive and by the time we hit the 3rd round we were at the ceiling of our coverage. They enabled me to turn in my unused meds as a credit towards the donor process.

Compassionate, skilled, experienced. She is realistic, thoughtful, and hopeful. Responsive when directly reach out and state want to speak with dr. Most communication is canned responses of next steps and with nurse.

Ask for what you need. Ask clarifying questions for better understanding.

3 medicated IUI cycles using 100mg Clomid x 5 days, Ovidrel trigger shot, IUI and progesterone. 3 cycles using 7.5 mg Letrozole x 5 days, timed intercourse, progesterone.

Had met deductible when started IUI so most costs covered. Monitoring ultrasounds cost about $300, labs $30-60. Unable to afford IVF not covered by insurance.

My husband and I are people that like to just get to the point, Dr. Robins was always incredibly informative and was to the point without seeming like he was insensitive to our situation. He had confidence in what he was doing that gave us peace of mind.

Trust the process, knowing that you are in good hands.

We have only had a plethora of testing done at this point, we have not yet moved forward with IVF cycles at this point.

All I can remember is IVF is approximately 10,000 out of pocket- not including medications.

He firmly believes in only transferring one embryo to avoid complications.

Dr Bernardi always remembered everything about my case and was so compassionate. She would frequently call me if something came up and didn’t only rely on her nurses to share sensitive information. I always feel completely taken care of when I meet with her or talk to her and know she’s doing everything in her power to help me have a successful pregnancy.

Make sure you get her as your doctor!

IVF

I had 100% insurance coverage for everything except PGS testing which ended up being about $4000 total

We are only doing single embryo transfers

We had a pregnancy leading to a miscarriage when we were told pregnancy was not possible by other physicians. We went to her for a third opinion and she informed us that with my condition, she always counsels patients that there is a 5% chance of pregnancy. She then told us to go through with our plans for donor egg and frozen embryo transfer. I felt like she was truthful in her advice and we appreciated her opinion and compassion. She seems very experienced

She will not sugar coat anything.

Labs, saline ultrasound to see if your uterine lining is prepared, adjust estrace and prometrium doses to have a period, baseline appointment, begin 2 week course of 4mg estrace 2x/day, mid cycle appointment to ensure uterine lining is >7mm thick aNd progesterone indicates no ovulation, 6 day course of PIO injections as well as endometrin vaginal suppositories, doxycycline 2 days before FET and 2 days after. Transfer day 6th day of injections. 8 day wait for blood HCG pregnancy test.

Nothing particular to this physician.

She highly recommended single embryo transfer. This was our first attempt.

Dr Boots was a wonderful, caring doctor. From our first visit she made us feel comfortable and made us feel heard. She used diagrams to help explain the process and answered all the questions we had. Our journey felt slow at times and not everything worked successfully, but Dr Boots was available to answer questions, always called to talk through solutions, and helped me understand next steps.

Dr Boots would only do a single embryo transfer for my age category given that I had previously become pregnant.

Dr. Feinberg did a very good job explaining everything as we went through the process. She was great at being available for in-person consultations or phone calls when things weren't going well, and took the time to make sure all our questions were answered.

Trust her, she knows what she's doing. :)

We tried several different strategies over the course of our treatment. I felt like Dr. Feinberg did a good job of adjusting the strategy to our situation over time.

Monitoring occurred in the very early morning, which was tough on me, but they were very efficient and well-run.

I was lucky, my costs were covered by my husband's insurance.

Dr. Feinberg had some opinions to offer on this topic, but in our case was very open to what we wanted, which was single embryo transfers.

You need to go in with your own set of questions but she does not rush the appointment and will make sure to answer every question. She has good bedside manners. I felt confident about her treatment and protocol.

Do your own research and go in with a list of questions.

Since I was diagnosed as unexplained, I was given the option to wait and watch or start my treatment right away and I decided with the latter. We did 3 iui’s Before moving on to ivf. The iuis did not result in a positive test. Then I did a low dose ivf stimulation cycle and retrieved 21 eggs. Both my fet’s resulted in a pregnancy though the first one ended in a miscarriage.

My doc did not recommend putting in more than one embryo as I was young and had a good chance of success. That eSet worked for both my transfers.

Dr. Bernardi was recommended to me while I was under the care of one of her colleagues and had some concerns about my care. I met with her and immediately felt at ease. She asked about my reasons for leaving the other physician in attempts to get to know me better as a patient. She trial-ed a different protocol that allowed me to get a cycle in before the end of the year lab closing. We both went in with low expectations due to my lower reserve and were pleased with the outcome, making it to retrieval and freezing embryos.

If you are looking for empathetic, creative, and warm, Dr. Bernardi is a wonderful fit.

We did a fresh start (no priming) and higher doses of FSH (300) and LH (150). Ganirelix was added on day 5. I triggered on day 8.

I have had great experiences with Dr Robins. He is both blunt and kind. I appreciate that he explains everything in detail and his advice is grounded in scientific evidence. He was so supportive and always reachable. He paitently, thoughtfully and thoroughly answered all my questions. Plus he was always reachable, even if it meant he had to call us back at 9pm from his cell phone at a conference!

Don't be afraid to ask questions

I don't recall the specifics. We did two fresh IVF cycles, the second resulting in a pregnancy. We just came back for a frozen cycle using PIO, Endometrin and Estrace, and I am currently pregnant.

They strongly encourage eSET when appropriate for the patient and explain the medical rationale behind it.

Dr. Barnes is a nice man, but I have always preferred female doctors. It was hard to get an appointment and he was the only one available when I could come in. He seems a little shy so I had trouble talking to him at times, especially after the miscarriage. He is very competent and knowledgeable.

Make sure you ask lots of questions and understand every fully during all procedures. Get support from a therapist or a support group from the beginning of your fertility treatments! I wish the doctors and staff had talked to me about this from my first appointment.

I did one IUI with him with 50 mg of Clomid.

Insurance covered almost all of it luckily.

She did not have a warm bedside manner. She did not meet with us often. Even after setbacks or bad news we had to request conference calls. She went on maternity leave and we had no idea we had been transferred to another doctor.

You have to be a good self-advocate in order to gett all of your questions answered. Don't look for a lot of support with the emotional piece of fertility.

We did pgd and pgs, which we got the sense she preferred we didn't do. When we didn't get a lot of embryos on our first cycle we tested our embryos on day 3 rather than day 5, which in retrospect is not what we would do now. That cycle was unsuccessful.

It was pretty efficient. I always made sure to get there early so I could be seen the soonest. The techs were always very nice.

My insurance covered most costs.

He was really personal, he tried to make jokes and make me feel good/comfortable. He would call personally with some test results. He listened to what I wanted (I wanted to try to do uiu without any drugs at least for the first time.) He was positive/optimistic but at the same time tried to be realistic.

Talk to your doctor; tell him your preference; work together as a team...

I had some blood work done first; then they checked my tubes and uterus to make sure I didn't have any issues there. I wanted to try first anything possible without hormones/drugs. So Doctor understood and worked with me. We did our first IUI without any hormones and it worked from the first time.

I don't remember plus my health insurance covers most of it

Kind and has good bedside manner, but not willing to change protocol or try new things. Did not want to look into endometriosis as a possibility for our troubles (which I had suspected I had since age 11), said my husbands morphology and motility were fine (wasted our time with 3 IUIs) when another clinic said otherwise and did not want to work with a reproductive immunologist. I ended up leaving her and finding out I did indeed have immunological disorders and stage III endometriosis. Went on to have a successful ICSI cycle with a new clinic after 3 failed IUIs and 1 failed ICSI cycle at Northwestern. I also was told I could get up right after our fresh transfer at Northwestern and didn't need to wait. Dr. Pavone never once performed any of my IUIs, egg retrieval or transfer.

I would look elsewhere and seek a RE that is more flexible and finding out what is wrong and treating those issues. I felt a lot of my concerns weren't addressed or looked into. Once I went to a new RE that was willing to look into possible immune issues and endo and treat them I had a successful ICSI cycle.

Cattle call, but I assume most clinics are like that. The second clinic we changed to was the same.

Very open, transparent and honest. Let us know all of the outcomes. The good, the bad and how we can adjust depending on how each treatment went. He was compassionate, caring, and very educational as we were going through the process for over 24 months. We couldn't recommend him and a team highly enough.

Be open to learning all of the different options available. Dr. Jain is an excellent doctor and will be sure to inform you of all different ideas and potential options.

I think that Dr. Pavone so far has been professional and came with a good plan. The waiting for appointments were short and easily we got our tests back within few days. The nurses are good as well. We still didn’t start our fertility treatment due to Covid. The tests so far were done in a proper manner.

Ask as many questions and do search at home to what to expect

We have been prescribed some vitamins for my hubby to increase his sperm motility and concentration. Meanwhile I have been prescribed clomid and a shot when I will start the IUI process

Around 1k after our insurance

Dr Robins has all of the FACTS! He is super knowledgeable and can answer all my questions well. That's what most of our discussions were about, facts of the tests, results, and next steps. I feel confident in what he tells us. If you are looking for special, tender care, Dr Robins may not be it for you. I need facts and look at things analytically, so I think it is a good match.

Go with lots of questions, research on your own too!

I have done 4 IUI with clomid and am currently in my 5th cycle with letrozole

Dr Robins recommend single embryo transfer if we start IVF in February

Although I’ve only met with her twice during my iui process, I still felt like she was watching my progress and called me when I was a bit frustrated with my progress. She has always been good at getting back to me through her nurses. Overall I feel like I’m in great care throughout my fertility process, and continuing on to ivf later this month.

Understand that you may rarely see her, but that she’s well aware of your process through her awesome team.

1st iui - ovidrel trigger shot 2nd iui- no trigger shot 3rd scheduled iui - cancelled due to overstimulation from 50mg clomid 3rd Iui - ovidrel trigger shot

Not yet. I’m open to multiple as twins don’t scare me.

Dr. Feinberg has been a great resource for me. Not only is she my doctor, but I have felt like she is my mentor and confidant during this emotional time of dealing with infertility. Any time there has been a medical setback, she has personally called me to check in and make sure I am doing ok and help construct a plan of action for the future.

Call as soon as you know you want to see a fertility specialist as she sometimes has a waiting list.

She was encourageing and empathetic to our situation and is always telling us not to quit. We had always left feeling reassured that no matter what course of action we take, we'll eventually get a positive result. Very considerate and was an expert on the topic.

Do as much research up-front and prepared with all of your questions when meeting with the doctor

She started us out on timed intercourse, followed by 3 IUIs, followed by IVF- all cycles with Letrozole/Femara protocol.

IUIs were about $1000 each including actual procedure, medications and blood work. Cost of single IVF is planned to be about $15,000

I only met the dr once or twice witch is normal but I never felt like she was hands on with my care. She also did not call after to discuss my results I had to be proactive with the appointment. It’s hard to rate the dr when we had little contact and poor results.

You have to be proactive in your own care. Do not expect hand holding.

Agnostic protocol. Gonal F ansmenopure.

Cattle call. They won’t give you results until they call late in the day. Other clinics will tell you while you are on the table.

Insurance paid for most appointments.

We did not transfer the embryo. We froze it for future use.