Brianna Schumacher

I cannot express how amazing Dr. Schumacher is. Starting this process we were between 2 fertility clinics and after meeting her, I knew instantly she was the one. She goes above and beyond for all her patients. Sits down with you to go over what is causing the infertility provides all information with facts and shows how to move forward. I had a tube blocked and she recommended a surgery and if both were bad to remove both, and my percentage would go up for a success ivf transfer, and man was she right!! She also went the extra step to recommend who to see to get this done and now that person is my OBGYN!! She would consistency send emails after every little update and it made me feel like okay I am more than just another patient. She was the one to call me to tell me I am pregnant from my BETA results and we both were yelling on the phone. The personal connections are there with her and she cares about her patients!! SHE IS THE BEST OF THE BEST!

Just be open to anything and be optimistic - I know thats hard but trust me when I say it helps you get through. Each appointment I was making jokes with everyone and getting to know everyone because it helped!

I did IVF! I had a tube blocked and needed to get a surgery to remove the tube. She recommended if both tubes looked bad to my surgeon (who she recommended) then to take both. They ended up taking both. I continued all the plans to come with IVF and had 4 frozen embryos! We transferred one and I told Dr. Schumacher to pick whatever one looks best I don't care about gender and she did that and it was successful! :) She also was the one to do my egg retrieval, and transfer!

I had Progyny insurance with my work.

I have none.

We loved Dr Schumacher when we first met her. She is very knowledgeable and walked us through everything, allowing time for and answering all questions we had. We rarely saw her and only saw her for our consultation, follow-up, and egg retrieval. We were very happy with her but had we had a different diagnosis/ didn’t have success we probably would have preferred a doctor who was easier to reach- I tried emailing her a few times with no response. But that could possibly not be her fault but the way the clinic is structured- my emails weren’t very dire so I brushed it off. I don’t think she would be the right fit for a person who needs constant communication with their doctor. All in all we were very happy with Dr. Schumacher and would recommend her.

She’s wonderful but don’t expect to see/ hear from her often.

Our case was straight forward- I don’t remember the exact protocols but they seemed pretty standard and appropriate for us.

We did the shared risk program which we think was a fair price. It’s always going to be expensive and we were prepared for that.

In our initial visit, she made the complex topic of infertility and IVF very clear. She gave me her time, details, and sketched out diagrams, more than the two other fertility centers I had been to previously. With Brianna, I felt I would get the time and care you would expect given the nature and price tag of the treatment. She described how easy it would be to get plenty of healthy embryos with a Shady Grove egg donor. They had excellent and thoroughly evaluated egg donors. Just pick one of their fantastic egg donors and a sperm donor and voila! She was so confident about how easy it was to make healthy embryos with Shady Grove’s expertise and one of their egg donors. I saw very little of Dr. Schumacher after that appointment. I received a long list of items to complete and a few folks that were supposed to walk me through the process. It took me 6 months. I never really understood who to contact for what and at what point the doctor came back into the picture. One of the times I did see her, she said to work with her team, and they would handle everything and make sure I got what I needed. Working with her team felt very impersonal and confusing, and as it turned out, I was never getting all of the information I needed. And being handed off from one person to another with no crossover, essential checks and balances got lost. Ultimately, I lost 30K because of the lack of accurate information and the lack of attention to the process as a whole. Here are the details – I went with a 1:1 egg donor cycle with a 25-year-old Shady Grove egg donor. I had insurance for 2 transfers, and I planned on using it. All in all, it cost ~30K. And Shady Grove received about another 30K from my insurance company. The result: Instead of 18+ eggs retrieved, there were only 9. Only 4 were mature eggs. Those eggs resulted in 2 embryos with chromosomal abnormalities. 1 with Downs syndrome and 1 with Klinefelter’s (XXY). I was told to expect 8-12 mature eggs from a 1:1 pairing. This donor was originally a 1:3 that I asked to be converted to a 1:1. From that, they would expect 4-6 healthy embryos, worst case. Ideally, I could expect 6 or more. Dr. Schumacher was overly excited about the embryo with an AA rating (prior to PGS testing) and wanted me to be excited. She did not tell me the rating of the other one, even though I asked. I was not ready to get excited because most people who can do a simple internet search know that the rating does not correlate to the chromosomal health of the embryo. She should have counseled me to be cautiously optimistic until the results came back. Even in the beginning, she was advising me that I didn't have to do PGT-A testing because there normally weren't any problems with a 25-year old's eggs. I felt that Dr. Schumacher's advice, process, and attitude were reckless. She neglected our discussion that I am 47 years old, maybe had a chance left, and did not have any more money to try again. Had she considered that she would have been involved with the selection of a donor and advised me appropriately. I was never told that a 1:1 pairing “could go wrong.” They sold it to me as a guarantee. Hence, why I chose to spend the 20K for a 1:1. Nor was I told by the financial department or Dr. Schumacher that there is a guarantee with a 1:3 pairing of 4 mature eggs or your money back. When I asked, "So you can pay 10K and end up with nothing?" Heather’s response was, "Yes." This is incorrect. If you don't receive 4 mature eggs, you get your money back. If anything, the financial department’s job is to make sure you completely understand all the financial aspects of the contract. Prior to payment to secure my donor, I had several back and forth emails with Finance about how their documentation was confusing. There is no guarantee with a 1:1 pairing. Shady Grove just said - sorry we were wrong about this donor. It happens sometimes. And they accept no responsibility for requiring you to select from the egg donor list that they have hand-picked and evaluated. Shady Grove told me these details only after things went wrong. It took 2 weeks for Dr. Schumacher to call me with the PGT-A results. For 2 additional weeks, I did what she told me to do – be excited that there were 2 healthy embryos. She sent me an email with multiple exclamation points about how I should go out and enjoy the sun. “I just checked on your embryos and it looks like we have one BEAUTIFUL embryo frozen for you today (AA - the highest grade!). We have 2 more that we are still going to watch for 2 more days. :) Let me know if you have any questions!!!! Otherwise, have a great day! Enjoy this sunshine and warm weather - it's sooo nice out!” Finally, we connected so she could confirm that Shady Grove had set fire to my 30K. There were no healthy embryos. The AA rating embryo was found to have Down’s Syndrome. They have offered that if I pay an additional $38K, we can start over, and Dr. Schumacher will be personally involved this time. To be fair, this does include transfers. However, it means I won’t be able to use my insurance. She will review the donors with me to ensure that we are successful. We will only select from donors that have been used before and have produced healthy results. When I asked Dr. Schumacher why she didn’t review this with me the first time (I am 47, and this was the only 30K I had for treatment. I only had one opportunity with an egg donor.) She said, “ummm to be honest I normally do have this conversation with people .. it’s one of the first conversations we have when it comes down to selecting a donor, um I usually review all the donors and I have patients send them to me so I can go through them specifically, uumm I don’t remember specifically um the conversation that we had and it sounds like we didn’t have that conversation and so I apologize if it wasn’t um you know I mean usually we do have this conversation usually I’m very involved in the donor selection process, I’m not sure what happened um in your case.” In order to come up with that money, it will have to come out of my 401K. Take-Aways • DO NOT use an egg donor that is new and untested. With Shady Grove or any fertility center. Or you could end up in my situation. Choose an egg donor that has already been tested and ask what the results were. Know as many details as possible about the health of the eggs and embryos and living children from that donor. Let someone else play the lottery with a new donor. • Confirm with Finance and your doctor, your understanding of the contract and do it in writing. Make sure they reply back and confirm. • You are just a number with any center that you go to. It's up to you to make sure your doctor and your center are following an appropriate standard of care. • The profit margins on fertility treatment are significant. Do not accept a low standard of care. • Shady Grove is not any different than RMA or Main Line (Tangent – The most wonderful nurses in Dr. Gocial’s office.)

She will make you feel comfortable and explain everything in a way you will understand. She is very engaging and wants to get you excited about how amazing their treatment is and how easy everything will be in their hands. Unfortunately, to the detriment of the truth and reality. Then she will disappear.

We didn’t get that far since the 1:1 egg donor match from Shady Grove was unable to produce any healthy eggs or embryos.

21K for a 1:1 egg donor retrieval, 5K PGTA testing. 5K for storage, surgery and sperm.

Dr. Schumacher will not transfer more than 1 embryo at a time to my knowledge. Regardless of patient request.

She was very thorough in her explanation at the initial visit, and optimistic and supportive in our decision to go with IUI. Everyone who would call to discuss things was well informed of our chart/history/plan. She did our final US before graduating from the practice and explained everything well, answered any questions we had, encouraged us to send pictures of my growing belly and baby as the pregnancy progresses.

She had reviewed my chart from my previous doctor, and felt my body responded well to clomid so we did cycles of clomid and ovidrel with IUI. My initial month, I over produced and had 11 follicles so she canceled for too high a risk of multiples. The second month she lowered my dose to where i had 4, and we had a successful first IUI treatment.

Our IUI was 100% covered by our insurance

I transferred to Dr. Schumacher after a year+ with another doctor from another practice. Best move ever. Dr. Schumacher was absolutely wonderful from day 1. She explained everything so well and answered all questions. She was so involved in my care and instead of just following a routine, kept switching and improving treatment based on results. She was so involved, would do ultrasounds and tries to perform all her patient procedures, despite there being a schedule for doctors rotating. Would highly recommend Dr. Schumacher, I have my baby girl because of her.

Go to her! She is a great provider

SGF offered a multi cycle discount program, was not offered at my other clinics. SGF was more affordable

Dr. Schumacher is very personable, professional and clear with what to expect. She takes time to explain all procedures, options, benefits and risks in a way that is truly helpful. She reaches out to communicate directly and has been a very caring professional.

Can't say I have any advice, she did everything I'd expect a caring doctor to do.

We're using oral estrogen and PIO injections to prepare for a frozen embryo transfer via donor embryo.

We're doing a frozen embryo transfer via donor embryo program. The fees in total should be under $8k. Extremely reasonable.

SGF says their standard is almost always a single transfer to reduce the risk of multiples. As a former preemie parent, I recognize the importance of reducing the risk of multiples given the increased risk of prematurity. However, they still evaluate each case to be sure eSET is best given the circumstances. In our case, both embryos we have are healthy and theres no reason to justify trying multiple transfer and risking multiples.

Dr Schumacher and her team were incredible! They were patient, encouraging and never gave up. Even when I thought it was hopeless, she would suggest a new course of action. Thanks to her and her amazing team, we have our beautiful daughter!

Listen to all options she has put in front of you. She is extremely knowledgeable and gives pros & cons for her suggestions.

I don't remember all of the medications I was on. But I do remember feeling like an emotional roller coaster. It's a lot to go through but worth it.

I loved the Shared Risk program that is offered. I took advantage of it and it was worth it!

Dr. Schumacher was kind and explained in detail everything I needed to know in our first consult. She made me feel comfortable and never judged from the beginning. She was always available if I had questions or concerns and was my biggest support through this difficult journey. I cannot recommend her enough!!

Don’t hesitate to reach out with all the questions! It’s a very overwhelming experience with a lot of information to take in and Dr. Schumacher always explained things impeccably!

2 IUIs with Clomid and 2nd ended in unknown location which prompted us to move to IVF. After 2 IVF cycles, I finally received my 1 Pgt normal embryo and my FET worked!

There is no way we could have made it on this journey without Dr. Schumacher and her positivity. From the moment we met her virtually she made us feel comfortable to ask any questions and took her time with us to explain the entire IVF process. Dr. Schumacher also made contact and checked in before and after every procedure. The level of care was superlative. Following both of my two biochemical pregnancies Dr. Schumacher called me personally to check in and help us process the outcome. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, but also by her kindness to even think to reach out to me to not only comfort me but with her optimism encourage us to keep moving forward. And we did! With her guidance we adjusted the process - opting for a natural cycle - and are successfully pregnant. I tell everyone I know I wish Dr. Schumacher could take us through my entire pregnancy because she is nothing short of amazing!!

You are in great hands just stay positive

Dr. Schumacher is a great doctor! She is very knowledgeable and kind. I just wish there was more time with her! Dr Schumacher does her best to keep communication open via emails and through the patient portal.

Dr. Schumacher is great but you may not see her often.

During the IUI cycles Dr. Schumacher has me taking clomid after an unsuccessful IUI and a cancelled IUI she switched up the type of medication I was taking. Dr Schumacher also prescribed other medications during the screening process that would increase fertility.

Dr. Schumacher was extremely supportive from our initial virtual visit during the pandemic where she drew a picture of what my uterus looked like and answered every question we had about the process. She spent a significant amount of time ensuring that I had a grasp on every aspect of the process and was available to any all questions from my husband and I

Prepare, as questions, research solutions but rely on her expertise to drive your care. This is a partnership and she is open minded and open to sharing her personal experiences.

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$51k inclusive of out of pocket medical expenses

Dr Brianna made us feel comfortable and gave us an answer to all of questions. She gave us hope and explained procedures and possibilities and outcome in diagrams and self explained. Dr Brianna is a pleasent intellegent caring doctor.

Dr Brianna made me feel comfortable and I know for sure she will do the same to you. She is also a great listener and will give you great answers to all your questions.

Overian Assessment Report, Baseline ultrasound, Saline Sonogram

Dr. Schumacher is an incredibly intelligent physician with the most wonderful bedside manner. She has truly found her calling in life! She is thorough and strives to make sure her patients and partners understanding each step of the process. She put me at ease the first day I spoke with her. I cannot say enough great things - she will always hold a special place in my heart! We would not be where we are today without her!

Schedule your appointment with her ASAP - no need to search for anyone else!

Dr. Schumacher was always very compassionate and upbeat while also being realistic and straightforward with her information and thoughts on our possible outcomes. Half of our visits were virtual vs in person (which was partially due to my husband and my schedule). I was glad to have her as my doctor during our embryo transfer and as one of my last OB appointments before graduating from Shady Grove, because though we only met her in person a handful of times, she immediately made us feel comfortable. I never felt rushed during appointments or like a burden for asking many questions, and she always listened thoughtfully and gave responses based on current evidence and her own experiences. I had done a lot of research on my own after learning about my endometriosis diagnosis, and Dr. Schumacher never pressured me into a specific protocol and was very open to other suggestions.

Do not expect to hear from Dr. Schumacher during your more frequent appointments. The nurses take over most of that care with the guidance of your doctors. However, you can always have them ask your doctor a question or request another appointment with them.

We did more of a straightforward approach since it was my first cycle. For my egg retrieval I used Follistim, Menopur, and Ganirelix with a Lupron trigger. For my FET I was debating between doing a lupron cycle due to my endo, however we ended up getting way more quality embryos than expected with 5/6 being genetically normal. My transfer regimen- 1.5ml progesterone (increased dose due to endo) starting 5 days before transfer, Estrace 2 mg PO 3x daily starting 3 weeks before transfer, then also adding Estrace 2 mg vaginally 2x daily 2 weeks before transfer. I continued the progesterone and both route of estrace until I was 10 weeks.

$27,050 for Shared Risk program plus med costs, fertility work up testing, and OB appointments/copayments- of note I had no IVF insurance coverage.

We chose to do a single transfer due to increased risk of multiples. Also we had our embryos genetically tested and had no reason (due to age or poor quality embryos) to transfer more than one.

Dr. Schumacher treated me through 6 IUI cycles. After 4 IUI’s I conceived my 2020 baby and after 2 IUI’s I conceived my 2023 baby. She is a great communicator and fully explained every step of the process and treatment plans. She fully answered all of my questions, never made me feel rushed and made herself available for conference calls when I was debating switching to IVF for my 2020 baby when the first 3 IUI’s failed. I really loved her bedside manner. She was very factual but also showed compassion and care throughout the treatment process. For my last 2 IUI cycles, I only saw her once or twice, but I knew she was reviewing all of my labs and information behind the scenes. This did not bother me at all as she has a highly competent team and they made sure to let me know what doctor Schumacher thought or when she wanted me to return, change meds, etc.. She did make sure to see me before I graduated. I’d highly recommend her to anyone - evidenced by me returning to her care for baby # 2!

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2019/2020 Treatment: I had 4 IUI cycles that included me taking clomid, ovidrel trigger shot, insemination and progesterone. 2022/2023 Treatment: I had 2 IUI cycles that included me taking clomid, follistim, ovidrel trigger shot, insemination and progesterone. This time my follicles needed some extra stimulation .

Dr. Schumacher was thorough in her consult and did present my case to other doctors in the practice which I appreciated. Having recurrent implantation failure of unknown origin at 31 was difficult, especially when we get using good quality PGS embryos. She was present for my retrieval and for 1 of the 2 transfers but I trusted the other physicians in the practice so I didn't mind seeing the other physicians. I also really appreciated the emails/calls to me to check in on how I was doing, that felt like the extra mile.

Come prepared with questions and ask why for each step of treatment. Trust that Brianna is treating you as an individual and not a number.

For my successful embryo transfer we did 2 months of Lupron with add back therapy and then standard SGF estrogen/progesterone FET cycle with lovenox and prednisone.

I had Progyny insurance so much of this was covered

Dr Schumacher recommended eSET to me despite having had 5 failures in the past given my age

Absolutely AMAZING! I was under her care for almost 2 years and we finally had success on our last try. Dr Schumacher is so compassionate and caring, she felt like a friend I could turn to in need. We felt very reassured at every turn, even during the scariest moments - I could not have asked for a better doctor/patient experience!

Be patient, the whole process can make you anxious and stressed, but Dr Schumacher was there each time to fully explain everything. Infertility is so hard, but you are not alone!

We did 6 rounds of Timed Intercourse - the 6th round worked, but the fetal pole never developed and was deemed a missed miscarriage (mmc). We then moved onto IVF - we did 1 round of egg retrieval which resulted in 30 eggs, 24 were mature enough to be fertilized, 20 fertilized normally and 16 made it to blast. We did PGT-A testing on the 16 embryos and 3 came back normal. We transferred #8 (day 5, AB girl) which failed, then we transferred #9 (day 5, BB girl) which also failed, and finally on 12/20/2021 we transferred #16 (day 6, AA boy) and it worked! However, my pregnancy was full of complications - because I have PCOS I ended up with severe OHSS and needed a fluid aspiration procedure. I also had a SCH, which then skewed most of my bloodwork resulting in the need for additional testing. And finally, I had a pre-mature rupture, we landed me in the hospital on supervised light bed rest for 3 weeks until the placenta abrupted and our son was born prematurely at 32w2d. He spent 4 weeks in the NICU, but did amazing and continues to be happy and healthy.

All costs were covered by my insurance, with the exception of PGT-A testing, which was out-of-pocket.

We were advised to transfer one at a time, and we agreed with that approach.

Dr Schumacher emailed me to check in after appts and procedures. She was enthusiastic and excited for each step of the process and also was realistic about the outcomes (which is what I wanted and asked for). She made me feel seen and heard throughout the entire process and I felt completely comfortable asking any questions or voicing any concerns I had.

Be prepared to ask questions, no matter who your doctor is. Do your research so you know what questions to ask. They do this process every day and sometimes the nuances might get overlooked. Don’t be afraid to go back after the appt (call/email) and ask those questions.

I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Schumacher. She made an intimidating topic of infertility very relatable and made sure she took the time to get to know you, explain everything and helped guide you all the way through your process. She pleasantly surprised me how involved she was throughout the whole process. Not only was she on hands, after every procedure or core updates she sent me a personal email or phone call to update me on the status along with words of encouragement. She definitely made you feel that you could get through anything even though at times it may be difficult. If I could stay with her to a live birth I would have loved to. I STRONGLY recommend Dr. Schumacher!

If you are hesitant or nervous it is worth it. She will make you feel comfortable and explain everything in a way you will understand. She will find the best solution for YOU and your situation.

Due to my age (above 35) and previously having a misscarriage with no lives births in my history, she went over all my options with percentages of outcomes of a live birth. After going through all my options IVF seemed the best option for my husband and myself. We did the injectables for the egg retrieval, and then after the genetic testing and trial that I was in did the transfer of 1 embryo. Blood work and ultrasounds were completed frequently and meds adjusted as needed to get the best possible outcome. I can safely say that I am 10 weeks pregnant and excited to start this next chapter in my life.

Monitoring appointments were done in a specific window during the week. I was fortunate that I was able to make it work with my schedule and it not conflict too much with my work schedule.

Since I was in a trial I could only have single embryo transfer. Since this was my first IVF cycle, Dr Schumacher also wanted to make sure that we had 1 perfect embryo transferred rather than taking out chances with multiple for our first IVF transfer.