Leah Bressler

With nothing to compare it to, I had no idea what to expect from a fertility clinic, but I can’t imagine a better doctor or experience than with Dr. Bressler at Shady Grove! We were able to meet virtually a couple of times, which was a huge timesaver for our busy work schedules. I was also really stressing about how many appts there would be and trying to work with my inflexible work schedule in healthcare, as well as my husbands residency schedule. Luckily the team at Shady Grove was so kind and helpful in bending over backwards trying to get us in for times that worked for our schedules. Their communication has always been excellent through phone calls and their online portal, and the protocols for treatment seemed individualized and tailored to us specifically, which helped lead to a positive outcome!

You're in great hands! No question is dumb, and she will work tirelessly for success.

We had medicated and monitored IUI cycles. Every step was explained fully so we were very comfortable. I took letrozole for 5 days, then a trigger shot, IUI, and then vaginal progesterone after ovulation. This was the first line of defense for our unexplained infertility, and since there was a question of egg quality the idea was to release more than 1 egg (per letrozole) in hopes that one of them would be good quality for making an embryo. We were successful on the 2nd cycle! With that cycle I didn't take the final dose of letrozole since my labs indicated I would have an earlier ovulation, so we triggered a little earlier in the cycle. I did have 2 cysts from the previous round of letrozole, but my labs showed they weren't producing hormones so we were OK to proceed with the 2nd IUI, and we are SO GLAD we did!

Blood tests were often done through LabCorp so we billed through health insurance. I had a HyFoSy done and the out of pocket cost was around $900-1000, which is currently still working through insurance but I anticipate paying out of pocket. The IUIs were $1200 each, not including medications, which were maybe $100 (trigger shot was the most costly around $75 each). I didn't have any insurance coverage for fertility treatments so it was all out of pocket. Shady Grove has a shared cost program for IVF that if you pay a little more (nearly $30k if I recall), they will do many egg retrievals and transfers to result in a live birth and if it does not result in a live birth, then there is a refund. Luckily I didn't have to utilize this, but I would have done this if we moved to IVF since I think I would've needed more than one egg retrieval so cost would've made sense for us.

We didn't proceed to IVF, but in speaking about it, they seemed to prefer a single embryo transfer.

This was my first experience at a fertility clinic and I wasn't sure what to expect. I have heard from others that with most fertility clinics, you won't get to see or speak to the doctor very often and that you primarily communicate with nurses. While I did communicate with the nurse frequently, Dr. Bressler still went above and beyond to call me directly with updated treatment plans, test results, and I was able to schedule an appointment with her directly whenever I had specific questions. She is incredibly knowledgable, and also kind and caring. Throughout all of the difficult news I received during my treatment, she was both emotionally and medically supportive, and when we received the news that I was pregnant, she cried tears of joy right along with us.

Can't think of anything specific.

I am fortunate enough to have fertility coverage through my employer.

She was very optimistic without giving me too much hope in scenarios where I was asking for advice and real expectations. Very thorough and helping me understand the next steps and what the plan was at all times. I very much appreciated her willingness to jump on the phone and to reach out to other teams to help her input regarding my health.

Not to hesitate to reach out.

Not sure if I have a relevant piece here, she mostly was involved with my transfers.

Most was covered under our insurance, copays for medications and 250 for the entire retrieval and transfer rounds.

Given that we did not have unknown and Fertility or any factors other than trying to select for a child without CF, we were told always to transfer one single embryo.

Dr. Bressler impressed me when after having our consultation, I had gotten pregnant without intervention but was experiencing some early bleeding. Naturally this was alarming and I was brought in the next day for an ultrasound. However this was not with Dr. Bressler. What impressed me and truly touched me was that later prior to the appointment she called me to check in and said she would be with a patient during that time but would check in again at a later time. That evening she called to touch base and answer any further questions I had. That small act of kindness and time out of her schedule made all the difference for a worried and scared first time mom-to-be.

I have been to 5 fertility clinics and seen 6 fertility doctors ( 4 clinics and 5 doctors in the Triangle area). Dr. Bressler and Shady Grove was hands down my best experience…by a landslide. Dr. B made me feel like an important individual (not a number). I had two retrievals prior to seeing Dr B and she not only listened to my preferences and incorporated them, but also gave me unique advice based on her subject matter expertise. It was my best retrieval and resulted in a healthy pregnancy. When I was anxious about something, Dr B reached out herself - even after hours. She couldn’t personally do my transfer because she was out of town, but she called me the day after to check in and share notes from the doctor who performed it (who was also amazing). She truly cared every single step of the way.

To be honest about your preferences, hopes, and concerns. She will do everything she can to make the whole process feel “right” to you.

I don’t remember the dosages but it was an antagonist protocol and I stimmed for 12 days. I got 23 eggs, 8 made it to blast, 5 were frozen (4 PGT normal and 1 low level mosaic. I then did a single frozen embryo transfer a few months later.

Less than $3k. I had Maven fertility coverage.

No. We both agreed on a single embryo transfer given my pregnancy history, PGT results, and desire for only one baby.

Dr. B was able to get my partner and I in for our very first consultation very quickly. From there she made sure we were always on the same page to keep things moving swiftly, as my partner and I were very eager to get pregnant. Each and every update was given by Dr. B by phone and she was always very compassionate. I would recommend Dr. B to any and everyone.

Going into this process, I was not given any advice and even so I felt as though Dr. B was able to walk me hand in hand through everything. After a few failed IUIs she suggested other treatment options without me having to ask. I felt as though she never took advantage of our situation and only ever wanted the best of outcomes for my partner and I.

Dr. B never treated my partner and I any differently than (I imagine) she would have a heterosexual couple. She always included my wife in any updates and never made us feel any indifference.

Dr. Bressler looked at my case individually and gave me a more realistic picture of my chances of conceiving and carefully explained my options. She never made me feel pressured and always supported in my care decisions, checking in regularly to see if I had questions or need anything along the way. When we ended up beating the odds and conceiving naturally, I could tell she was so excited for me and my family.

Don't wait, if you are questioning your care switch not to Dr. Bressler. You won't regret it.

For my diagnosis my options were to pursue donor egg IVF or to try naturally understanding there was only about a 10% chance given my labs. When I wanted to try naturally she helped me find the correct dosage for my HRT and recommended supplements and throughly explained possible side effects. At my previous clinic I was told my only option was donor egg IVF and that my case was pretty much hopeless.