Reproductive Resource Center

Honest, integrity, great communicator, and trustworthy. When we first met her, she gave us advice on skipping the IUI and proceeding with IVF. We decided to take the less invasive procedure and in all actuality we should have listened to her. She took her time to review our case and knew what was best for us as a couple. Her best advice was not to be afraid to ask questions and always call to talk to staff if you’re unsure on a certain injection instruction.

Trust exactly what she tells you.

So with doing two rounds of IUI and one round of IVF we spent around a total of $24,000 with RRC.

She only wanted to do one since I had OHSS.

She can be a bit abrasive and her bedside manner isn’t the greatest. I have also witnessed her being short and rude (in my opinion) to nurses. She seems to know what she is doing, but could be more compassionate towards her patients.

Ask tons of questions and make sure you get the answers you are looking for before you leave the office.

We have done every test I know of to come to the unexplained infertility diagnosis, which is discouraging. We have done 2 rounds of IUI, neither of which were successful using letrozole, trigger injection & progesterone.

Costs are significant and they usually want payment up front or will bill you immediately following for treatment. Luckily, we have great insurance that covers many of the procedures and tests. But, if we didn’t I’m not sure how we would afford treatment if at all.

I believe Dr. Brabec is an experienced RE. This experience makes up for her lack of bedside manner. She cuts straight to the point and does not always listen well. Dr. Brabec is clearly busy but certainly cares about her results. She gave exaggerated optimistic odds (65% success rate) when encouraging us to use donor eggs. When our donor egg cycle failed, she said "we knew the odds were just 50%." Both odds are higher than those reflected on the clinic's SART records.

We were told Dr. Brabec had no bedside manner before we met her by several patients of hers who had had success being treated by her. Had we not known that, it would have been harder to accept.

Based on lab results, we were advised by Dr. Brabec's staff to use frozen donor eggs. We jumped at the opportunity given the success rates she cited. Our med/timing protocol was the same as all first-time donor egg recipients at her clinic and was very similar to those I've learned about from patients at other clinics. My uterine lining was right on track for the initially estimated transfer date. The transfer failed (did not result in a pregnancy) due to a "poor quality" embryo. Two REs consulted after this experience indicated they would not have transferred an embryo of that grade.

Approximately $12,000 for lab costs and one embryo transfer, including a $1,500 "coordination fee." The fee for eggs was $15,000 from a separate egg bank that our fertility clinic works with. We paid that fee to our clinic. However, via an online donor egg recipient forum, I learned that we were overcharged more than $1,000 by our clinic.

Dr. Brabec told us she is usually unwilling to transfer more than one embryo at a time citing that it's in the best interest of the patient and child(ren).

We only met with Dr. Brabec once before we started our treatments. She did spend time with us to discuss the options and thoroughly discuss IVF. We left that first consultation very confused as it was more of an information overload. I didn’t speak with Dr. Brabec again until our IVF cycle failed.

Be sure to ask questions so you fully understand your treatment and fully know what to expect, the risks, etc.

I started my cycle with 150 units of gonal f, 150 units of menopur, and 1 tablet of dexamethasone a day for 3 days. After my first bloodwork, she increased my gonal f to 300 units a day for the remainder of my cycle, 7 days; and kept menopur and dexamethasone the same. I started cetrotide 3 days before my retrieval. My trigger was 2ml Novarel and 80 units of leuprolide. The next day they had me administer another 2ml of the Novarel.

For our IVF cycle, we were quoted around $20K but that included PGS testing. However we ran multiple tests before we could start a cycle which added up over time. I think we had at least $600 in blood work.

At times during our treatment, I really liked Dr. Brabec, and other times not so much. As some one who really wants to understand my treatment and the reasons for selected protocol, I felt like communication was greatly lacking. I also felt like Dr. Brabec got defensive when I questioned her about what went wrong with her cycle (not blaming her). I was apparently diagnosed with PCOS but wasn't made aware of that fact for several months until I asked during our IVF consult. Otherwise, I don't know if I would ever have been told.

With Dr. Brabec (or any RE), it can be intimidating to ask questions, but you really need to be your own advocate throughout the process.

I did two cycles of IUI with letrozole, then my husband and I decided to move on to IVF. For our IVF cycle, I was on an antagonist protocol with Menopur. I had a short stimulation period followed by freeze-all egg retrieval. Dr. Brabec had high hopes for our retrieval (as did we), but out of 18 eggs retrieved, we had 8 that were immature, and of the ten mature, only three fertilized. Only one made it to Day 5, 4BB blast. That FET cycle resulted in a negative.

Due to my age (34), Dr. Brabec recommended a single embryo transfer. We ended up with only one embryo so it was a nonissue.

Dr Phipps is very knowledgeable and dedicated to his profession; however, his bedside manner is poor and demonstrates little ability to create personal connection or show compassion with something that is so emotionally and financially sensitive. However, his referral and patient success has superseded these things to my spouse and I.

Trust his knowledge and rely on his staff.

I start injections this upcoming week. Dr Phipps adjusted my medication after SHG that showed uterine polyps as well as my blood drawer numbers dropping. We will be complete frozen egg transfer with PGD and PGS.

Approximately 15,000 down payment; at this point approximately 2,500 for medication; 1000 to hospital for surgery fee; 450 for anesthesia; shipping fee as well as $99 per embryo for genetic testing. This does not include fees for medication around time of implant or storage fees. Approximately $1000 in other misc fees for appointments.

I believe he talked about just one embryo transfer to reduce risk of complication.

Celeste spoke candidly about my age and options. She explained what would happen and even when I didn’t understand, took the time to reassure me that she was part of this and would do everything she could to get success. She never promised it but seemed optimistic about our chances.

She talks very fast. She has a lot of information to share so it seems to come at you fast but don’t be afraid to ask questions after. Be prepared to take notes.

Our first IVF treatment was unsuccessful but she learned from it and put me on some vitamins and my husband as well to try to improve our chances on round 2. After those adjustments, we ended up getting pregnant it suffered a miscarriage at 8 weeks. Since we had purchased a 2 cycle plan and had no frozen embryos, that was our last shot within our budget.

We purchased a 2 cycle IVF plan for $15,500. If neither were successful, we received half of it back. (Which was our case). Drugs totaled approximated $10,000

She chose to implant both embryos that had survived each time after 5 day’s. She explained that it gave us our best shot at a positive result.

I loved Dr. Brabec when we first went to her. She was blunt, but somehow compassionate. I appreciated her honesty and her matter of fact way she said "we will get you a baby". After my ultra sounds, she referred me back to my OB and said that I needed to have a fallopian tube removed. She was the doctor, I trusted her, so I did. We did a fresh transfer, never addressing the endometriosis, and transferred our only 2 embryos. After days of back and forth we are pregnant, no we aren't, we finally were told I was having a chemical pregnancy. After that, about 2 weeks later I got a call from one of the nurses that they were ready to start again. My husband and I requested an appointment to talk with Dr. Brabec, we just wanted some answers...what would we do differently, how does this happen, what are the odds of another chemical pregnancy? So, had our appointment. Dr. Brabec was sympathetic and told us that if we really want our best chances of having a baby we needed to go the donor egg route. We were not opposed to that, we just want to have a baby. I mentioned to Dr. B that I had been going to acupuncture and that it was helping my stress levels, if nothing else, immensely. She basically told me that I was wasting my money and that during the next round, with donor eggs, I would need to stop that. My husband and I looked at eachother and thought, ok, lets go home and look at these donor banks and make a decision. Then one of the nurse comes in and says ok, we can get your stim shots started for this next round asap. We looked at eachother and were so confused, Dr. B had just told us our best chance of having a baby was egg donor. The nurse called Dr. B back in and it felt so confusing and nobody seemed on the same page. Dr. B said that she would still work with us if we wanted to try another round with my eggs, but that donor eggs would be a MUCH better chance of having a baby. We left feeling frustrated, confused, and over all defeated. I went to acupuncture the next day and she told me to go talk to another doctor, so we did. We immediately made the switch.

Get a second opinion.

She wanted us to do a fresh transfer, she said that would be our best option. She never addressed my endo. I started on bc, then applied testosterone patch for 5-6 days. On 8/4 I started leuprolide injections and growth hormone. I also started menopur and follistim in the evenings. My egg retrieval was 8/10, we started progesterone shots 8/12. Our transfer was 8/15.

I would say around $18000.

Dr. Brabec's compassion and love for her patients shines through. She was always thorough and reassuring with her instructions and plan of care. She took the time to make us feel comfortable with our plan of care and addressed and questions or concerns we had through out the entire process.

Know that Dr. Brabec and her staff is always there to answer any questions you have from filling prescriptions, to lab test and procedures. Weather in person, on the phone or via patient portal you will always receive a prompt response. No question is a dumb question so ask, ask, ask. They will always be able to guide you.

We did IVF ICSI. with a male fertility factor Dr. Brabec assured us ICIS was the best course of action to get the most healthy embryos. With our fresh cycle we got 5 healthy 5day embryos. We transferred two of them and had a successful pregnancy with twin girls born at 28 weeks gestation. For our next two cycles we did two FET cycles. Our first attempt at defrost was unsuccessful and lost an embryo. They moved onto the next embryo with a successful thaw we completed transfer with. We received a positive pregnancy test but unfortunately miscarried by our 8 week scan. We then attempted anther FET witch resulted in a negative pregnancy test.

IVF ICIS approx $17,000 FET cycles approx $6,500 each

Dr. Brabec was open to multiple embryo transfer for our first cycle. She did advise we transfer no more than two embroys. Both embryos took and we were blessed with twin daughters born at 28 weeks gestation. For our next two cycles Dr. Brabec advised we only transfer one embroy at a time to reduce the risk of premature birth.

Dr. Brabec is thorough and to the point. She wants to see you succeed and fully explains her recommendations, the risks, and the course of action. She is mindful not only of her patients and their desires, but of her practice as a whole.

Go to the consult! Dr. Brabec has years of experience and will be honest with you regarding your treatment.

Prior to seeing Dr. Brabec I'd been diagnosed with PCOS and had some evidence of stimulation using clomid. My first cycle with RRC was in 2011 and started with a round of oral meds (letrozole) which was cancelled due to no response. 2nd cycle was letrozole days 3-7 (I think) then 37.5 iu of Follistim days 3, 5, 7, 9 (ultrasound), 11, 13 (ultrasound), then Ovidrel on day 14. IUI was day 15. It led to a successful pregnancy. In 2013, we were trying for a second baby. We started in September with the same protocol, but we upped the Follistim to 75 iu. Had the IUI, but negative pregnancy test. 2nd cycle we upped to the Follistim again to 116 iu until a monitoring ultrasound. Had second IUI, also a negative result. At baseline ultrasound for 3rd cycle I had a cyst, so we did a month of birth control. The real 3rd cycle, we did Letrozole again (days 3-7), then 116 iu of Follistim days 3-7 and backed down to 75 iu of Follistim every day after until the Ovidrel trigger. Had IUI and a successful pregnancy. In 2016, trying for 3rd baby, protocol was as follows : Letrozole days 3-7, 50 iu Follistim every other day starting on day 3, half tablet of dexamethasone every day, Ovidrel trigger on day 12, IUI on day 13. IUI was successful and led to a successful pregnancy. I also took metformin ER throughout each attempt since I have insulin resistant PCOS. I was more heavily medicated on my second set of cycles due to poor response and probable secondary infertility. Dr. Brabec held back when trying for the 3rd baby as she was concerned for multiples.

Each cycle with injectible meds ran $3-$5k depending on medication.

I only saw Dr. Brabec in person a few times but I found her to have an excellent balance between professionalism and being a compassionate nurturer. She was very confident which helped me feel the same way.

You might not get to see the doctor a lot, but she and the nursing staff are always looking out for you.

We scheduled and started an IUI cycle before we had my final results for AMH and FSH. Although those two results and my follicular counts resulted in Dr. Brabec considering me not a candidate for IVF with my own eggs, we continued with the IUI cycle because it was already planned and paid for. It resulted in a negative pregnancy test so we immediately chose to start an egg donor IVF cycle. The doctor's rationale for recommending donor eggs was a combination of high FSH (18.8), low AMH (0.02) and low anterior follicular count (5 total). As well as my history of negative test after 12 months of trying "naturally" and 3 rounds of Clomid, 4 months of Metformin and 3 rounds of Femara. We received 8 eggs from Fairfax egg bank and 2 made it to blastocyst, a third was close but did not make it. We chose to transfer both embryos and that transfer resulted in a live birth of fraternal twins at 31 weeks.

Estimating: I believe the IUI cycle was about $1,500 with medication. The IVF cycle was just under $10,000. That is just the transfer side because we used donor eggs, which were $15,000.

Dr. Brabec didn't give a recommendation for or against multiple embryo transfer. She asked what we wanted to do and supported it.

Dr. Brabec is very knowledgeable and presents information in a confident, yet warm and empathetic manner. When I first met with her, I was very nervous about starting my journey to becoming a single mother by choice. She instantly made me feel at ease and laid out my options in a very pragmatic fashion. I underwent six IUIs and one IVF with fresh transfer before becoming pregnant and successfully delivering my daughter. Dr. Brabec gave me the outcome I had desired, even though the journey took longer than I had planned. Dr. Brabec honored my wishes and allowed me to continue attempting IUIs; I was never pressured to undergo IVF, although in hindsight, I wish I would have moved to IVF earlier in my journey. Dr. Brabec is in high-demand and for that reason nurse practitioners handle the majority of the office visits. All my IUIs were performed by a nurse. Dr. Brabec performed my IVF egg retrieval and fresh transfer. She was unavailable to perform the follow-up ultrasounds. Although I didn't see her on a frequent basis, I always had the sense that she would make herself available if needed/requested. Her nurses and staff are very competent, so I always felt that I was in good hands.

I would advise a prospective patient to be come to an office visit prepared with a list of questions/concerns. Dr. Brabec is in high-demand and the time a patient has with her is limited.

IVF with fresh transfer = $10,625 IVF with genetic testing + 1 frozen transfer = $14,533 Frozen transfer only = $2,558 Internal embryo biopsy = $2,500 The above prices exclude medications and external hospital fees.

Dr. Brabec strongly advocated to transfer two embryos.

I love how Dr. Brabec is kind very direct. She won't give you fluff unnecessarily, but is warm. She always asks how life is going outside of the fertility struggles. It helps to be asked about life....we can lead a life outside of this situation and she brings us back to that place.

Trust her judgement!

We went to quality over quantity. We didn't want to risk my health for the sake of getting large number....we wanted quality eggs and quality embryos!

I love the monitoring appointment set up. I was able to go when it fit my schedule. The clinic was always able to accommodate in a timely fashion and it never felt rushed.

The clinic Costs were about $15,000 for a egg retrieval and transfer. Any transfer thereafter is $3,000 roughly.

Shooting for a happy, healthy singleton is the best course and I'm happy with that.

While I apprecaite a candid and forthcoming doctor, I felt Dr. Brabec was not candid where it counted. She over medicated me putting me into OHSS during my egg retrival and then bluntly asked why I waited to start my embryo transfer. Did she not read my file? She doesn't take into consideration the impact to you as a human and to your body. She would consult with me and then pawn me off to the other doctor at her practice at the last minute. His success rates are lower than hers and something tells me she sends the people she doesn't think will do well to him.

Go somewhere else, especially if you are over 35.

No specialized treatment, just pumps you full of drugs and sees what happens.

She will only transfer one at a time, it's their policy.

She seems rushed when speaking and explaining things to us. She does seem caring and competent though. She didn't change our treatment after a failed FET, but I scheduled a consultation and then she noticed things to change.

She is a good doctor. Confirm info with nurse so you understand what she is saying. She talks fast and it can be difficult to keep up.

Antagonist protocol. 6 eggs retrieved resulting in 2 PGS tested normal embryos. First one failed and second was a chemical pregnancy. No rational was given to me that I can remember for the protocol.

Monitoring is always in the morning, which isnt the most convenient for our schedule.There doesn't seem to be a line and seems to be well run.

We used Attain IVF Refund Program that cost about $21,000. Meds can be costly because they don't let you order from overseas.

She prefers 1 embryo transfer to reduce chance of multiples.

She cares about you and will spend a great deal of time going over what your best options are for success. She made me feel important and that she had my best interest in mind. She takes time with you and your family to go over all your options. She won't let you leave until you understand everything. You can ask as many questions as you would like and she doesn't rush you.

Sit down with her and ask her as many questions as you want because she won't let you leave until they are all answered.

My protocol was to have my tubes removed first then go through a FET cycle. I already had 4 embryos frozen so we implanted two. I feel like having my tubes removed first was what made this cycle successful.

My FET cycle cost around 5,000

I wanted to have two embryos implanted because I knew I would have a greater chance of it working. One embryo survived.

She is very knowledgeable and clear with expectations. She can be a little blunt but I like getting straight to the point. She gets very full so waiting is the hardest part to move forward with the next step.

Be patient. Even though it is so hard to wait. Hopefully it’s worth it in the end.

We’ve done two cycles of IVF egg retrieval. The second cycle we increased the doses of all meds and produced more eggs during retrieval. All embryos were PGT tested and we ended up with 3 embryos

With insurance coverage for fertility we have spent about $25k out of pocket

Because we tested our embryos, we only moved forward with one for transfer.

Dr. Barbed talks quickly, and sometimes things feel rushed. She is knowledgeable and clearly knows what she is doing, but you must advocate for yourself to make sure you understand everything. She was empathetic to our situation while also giving us facts based on our history.

Make sure you write things down because she talks very quickly.

She knew that I have PCOS and have previously not responded to fertility drugs in the past. She added different medicine to my protocol that I hadn’t used before and it actually worked out well (I ovulated, did not get pregnant).

Sperm wash $90, IUI was about $325, ultrasound $288, visit $70

Dr. Brabec was very good at describing specifics of my fertility prior to beginning our treatment. She was very straight forward with our chances. she was also able to show compassion and understanding when our IVF didn’t work out like we would have liked. We would recommend her to our family and friends and continue on our journey for our family with her clinic.

She is very open and honest. I’m sure some people can take offense to her bluntness. I found it refreshing.

We used a leupron protocol- with good doses of follistim and menopur for our IVF cycle. In hopes of getting more eggs -due to my diminished ovarian reserve.

IVF 10,000 + medication cost of 5,000

I felt like we were only a small patient to her so she didn't spend much time with us. It's hard to get to know someone in only 10 or so minutes. Since we were iui patients I didn't feel as important.

She's nice, but you don't always get to speak directly to her. I wish I could of had more time with her.

We did an iui. The nurse practitioner is who completed it all. They gave us letrozol and told me to use it on day 3 of my cycle. I also had dexamethasone. Was told to take that the same time. (Later found out on our 2 cycle to take in on day one of menses but they never told me that not even the 2nd time) then on day 10-12 they had me come in for ultra sound. Said to take my hcg shot and come back on day 14 for iui.

Iui was about 500 give or take per cycle

Dr Phipps did a good job of explaining everything to us. He is honest and upfront about everything that will happen. Sometimes his communication may not be the greatest, but he gets to the point. He doesn't sugarcoat things but also stays very positive while speaking.

To expect to be treated well but also be ready to ask questions. The more questions you ask the more you will get out of him.

In Vitro (including all appointments, egg retrievel, ICSI, assisted hatching, fresh embryo transfer): Approximately $16000

Dr. B was very smart and knew everything there was to know about fertility . She wasn’t very sympathetic to me as a patient and our personal journey . I also Felt that she wanted to rush to IVF and not explore every option before that

Make sure that you wear your big girl pants . She is very smart and will do the latest and greatest treatment but won’t be very sympathetic to you as a person

She was very thoughtful and explained things in terms I could understand, didn't talk down to me, let me know my feelings mattered. Without her, I wouldn't have my daughter. She helped give me a miracle. I can't say enough kind things about her.

Be patient and have hope.

This I don't remember.

$14,000 approximately

She suggested transferring 2 embryos at once, which I was fully comfortable with. She explained why.

Dr. Brabec was highly recommended to me after multiple OBGYN’s were unwilling to help solve the issue at hand, PCOS. Each OBGYN told me to loose weight and then I’d be better. There was no need for weight loss. I was told Dr. Brabec had years of experience and extensive knowledge with PCOS and would be an amazing option to best find a treatment plan to help guide me in the right direction to starting a family. I was excited but when I met with Dr. Brabec she refused to answer any question regarding PCOS and how she handles patients who are dealing with PCOS. Her only answer was to change my diet and start exercising. Dr. Brabec refused to look at me as a women struggling in her own body and instead threw textbook answers at me. Instead of looking at a woman who was skipping periods for years, eating healthy, working out, and still struggling and saying “let’s find a solution” she pushed me out the door. I truly hated how she made me feel as if I didn’t matter.

If you have PCOS, find someone else. She has no bedside manner, she will not answer PCOS related questions, and he solution regardless of your weight or blood work is the same as everyone else. Change your diet, exercise, lose weight.

I was offered none. Nothing was discussed. No treatment plan for PCOS to get me to any type of ovulation induction, no IUI, no IVF. She looked at me wanting more information on how to help prepare my body for a pregnancy and pushed me out the door with no information, no treatment plan, no guidance. Extremely disappointed in how she handled my care.

She is extremely caring, personable, and very knowledgeable. We felt as though she had our best interest in mind at all times and made sure we were familiar with all steps of the procedures. Anytime we had questions or concerns, she was always willing to discuss them with us.

To make sure you look ahead through your procedure calendar and ask any questions you have ahead of time. It can be stressful when you get to a certain point and you have a question when what you have to do has to be done on that day. Its good to ask as many questions up front that you can, of course, they are always willing to answer questions as they come up.

Approximately 17,000 in total for the initial IVF with ICSI proceedure. The two frozen embryo transfers we did after that were approximately $4500 each time.