Shefali Shastri

Dr. Shastri is the only doctor I will ever go to for my fertility treatments. She is compassionate, very knowledgeable, and extremely methodical when it comes to the way she manages her patients. I can think of a perfect example of this when I was going through my retrieval cycle. I was nearing the end of my stimulation meds and was about to be scheduled for surgery. I was coming in every day for monitoring so I was seeing different doctors each time. Literally for 3 days in a row each of the doctors said ok I think you’re ready for your retrieval. Your doctor just has to check the ultrasound and make the ultimate decision. Every day my nurse would call and say no Dr. Shastri wants you to stim another day. To be honest after this happened the third day in a row I started to get a bit frustrated because I just wanted to do the surgery. But on the last day before my retrieval was scheduled Dr. Shastri did my ultrasound. I remember she came in the room and said I’m sorry I’ve been dragging this on. I just want to make sure we get the best results we can get because I don’t want you to ever have to do this again. Well she was right because when she did my retrieval she retrieved 34 embryos and after all was said and done I was able to freeze 24. I truly believed if another doctor was caring for me I wouldn’t have gotten such amazing results because they would have pulled the trigger on the surgery too fast.

Choose her as your doctor, you won’t regret it!

For my retrieval cycle she took a very dialed back approach because I had PCOS and so she was concerned that if she put me on regular doses that I would get stimulated too much. I ended up with 34 eggs and 24 frozen embryos in the end. For my first transfer I wanted to do a natural transfer which to be honest was not her recommendation. We transferred one embryo and that was unsuccessful. That’s when I realized I just needed to listen to her direction because she knew better then me. My next transfer was successful following a medicated protocol and I now have an 11 month old son. We just recently did my third transfer a few weeks ago. We transferred one embryo and I am now pregnant with identical twins.

Morning monitoring is always quick and extremely organized. Although it may not always be with your doctor I don’t think its necessary for every single ultrasound especially if it’s just a monitoring one and nothing important is going on for that ultrasound to be with your doctor.

Dr. Shastri and I think RMA in general typically only transfers one embryo for each transfer cycle because their belief is why would they purposefully put you in a high risk situation of having a multiple pregnancy. I definitely agree with this approach because I am currently pregnant with identical twins from a single embryo transfer so who knows what would have happened if they had transferred two.

Dr. Shastri is an excellent communicator and is very knowledgeable. I came to her after doing 4 retrievals at another clinic where my doctor did the exact same medication protocol over and over, despite getting poor results. After my 4th retrieval he said we could try one more time but then we'd need to move onto donor eggs. When I came to Dr. Shastri, she immediately changed multiple things in my medication protocol and I think the results speak for themselves: Clinic 1: Age 33 ER #1: 7 eggs retrieved, 3 blastocysts, 1 euploid ER #2: 9 eggs retrieved, 4 blasts, 0 euploids ER #3: 6 eggs retrieved, 2 blasts, 1 euploid ER #4 (age 36): 6 eggs retrieved, zero fertilization ER #5 with Dr. Shastri (age 36.5!): 10 eggs, 7 blasts, 6 euploids! It then took 3 transfers with Dr. Shastri to have success, but of course this is in-line with the "3 euploids per birth" statistic most frequently cited. What I appreciated most about Dr. Shastri is that she was always willing to try new things to see what medication protocol would be most effective for my body and never suggested that something was "just bad luck," as is so common among IVF doctors. The changes she made to my retrieval protocol made such a dramatic difference in my results, there is NO WAY this was just due to luck - it was her skill as a clinician. And then when my first medicated transfer didn't work, we tried a modified natural protocol, and then for my third we changed other things - this was NOT a cookie-cutter approach, it was customized care. The only downside to RMA is that is is such a big facility, the experience is fairly impersonal. A different doctor performed my retrieval and one of my transfers was performed by a different doctor. The flipside of this negative is that it means procedures can be performed 7 days a week, which I think is hugely important because it means surgeries can be performed on the best day clinically, not when it can be scheduled around the doctor's schedule. This is especially important for retrievals, fresh transfers, and frozen transfers using a natural medication protocol.

For my retrieval we stimmed using Clomid, Gonal-f 450, low-dose HCG 40, and a dual Lupron HCG trigger. First transfer (medicated): estradiol, PIO Second transfer (modified natural): HCG trigger, supplemental estrodial and progesterone suppositories Third transfer medicated: estradiol, PIO, prednisone, benadryl - success

Transfers were $5k Retrievals were $19k, not including PGT testing and medication

We always transferred a single PGT tested embryo and did not ask about transferring multiples.

Such a great experience and I would be thrilled to work with her again. I had two rounds previously with another RE that were successful, but didn’t get nearly the numbers that my AFC indicated. Dr Shastri went through all the possible causes with me, developed a treatment plan accordingly, and the one round I’ve done with her so far got me more frozen eggs than both my previous rounds combined!

I don’t think you really need advice, she’s very welcoming of questions and just great to work with

We did Estrace priming instead of the birth control pill leading up to this round to avoid over-suppressing my ovaries, but I also just felt so much better on it - I do not do well on BCPs. We used Gonal-F & Menopur once a day in similar but slightly lower doses than I’d used in the past, and one thing I thought was interesting was we tapered off the amounts as the cycle progressed. (I’m not a doctor but even I could tell from looking at the ultrasound screen that my follicles grew a lot more uniformly in size this time around.) Then Cetrotide and a Lupron + low-dose HCG trigger. And voila!

We really like Dr. Shastri and highly recommend her. She is very knowledgeable and comfortable explaining the different treatment options and protocols available. We appreciate that while she is warm and approachable, Dr. Shastri is also direct and does not set unrealistically high expectations. She clearly explained the expected success rates and how they might relate to our particular situation. Her matter-of-fact approach and answers to our detailed questions worked well for us; however we understand that they may not be for everyone.

She tends to talk fast and passionately. Make sure you come prepared with questions and take notes so you do not miss anything.

Underwent IUI cycle. Protocol used was: (1) Day 3 baseline ultrasound and blood work (2) Daily Follistim / Gonal-F injection starting Day 3 (3) Day 7 ultrasound and blood work (4) Ovidrel trigger at night (5) Two consecutive days of IUI following Ovidrel trigger (6) Progesterone test 7 days after IUI, followed by progesterone suppository if needed (7) Pregnancy test blood work 14 days after IUI

Not applicable

I really wanted to like Dr Shastri as she came recommended by a friend who had success and her sister is close friends with Dr Shastri. Dr. Shastri and I even discussed the chocolate thali at a restaurant in Goa, India. Out of all the five doctors I have consulted for ivd, she is the worst in terms of her knowledge and her willingness to seek the best solution for a patient. When I had my initial consult, she would rattle off stats and claim that RMA’s lab was better than Cornell’s based on the SART data. When I later pressed her since she did her fellowship there, she admitted with agitation that Cornell and RMA have different philosophies. When I asked about whether a low dose protocol of Menopur and Gonal F was better, she confidently stated that the higher dosage was better. Dr Davis at Weill Cornell believes that it’s a 50/50 shot whether a high/ low dose protocol would work for DOR, and after many rounds, the low dose protocol worked better for me. Also, Dr Shastri ordered liquid HCG to replace Menopur (despite having a ton) and the HCG only had a 30 day shelf life. Right before the pandemic, I was about to start stim medications because RMA did not shut down during the pandemic. For reasons I found rather dubious, I was not cleared by anesthesia, and Dr Shastri dropped me as a patient and told me I could not cycle at RMA. However, thanks to my nurse, another Dr at the same Somerset office took me as a patient and said I could do an egg retrieval without anesthesia. So either Dr Shastri was incompetent or she was clearly too lazy to determine a solution for a patient.

If I was paying out of pocket or had a difficult fertility case, I would steer clear of Dr Shastri. If I had to see Dr Shastri, I would make sure I would get a second or even a third opinion. With her, you definitely need to verify everything she says.

I would prep with estrogen patches first before my period, then 300 or more of gonal F because I would do liquid HCG instead of Menopur. No clomid priming.

Luckily I had insurance coverage that RMA took. However, Dr Shastri’s financial coordinator was terrible Noelia Woeldin. She told me 3x that I didnt have coverage on ICSI and embryo freezing, which Weill Cornell said I did. I verified with my insurance 2x and then when I talked to someone else at the financial office at RMA, I was told Noelia didnt even verify my benefits. I hate to be nasty but I told her to do her job. Her response after verification was “”I had good benefits.”

Single embryo transfer genetically tested

Dr Shefali Shastri is compassionate and has a great positive energy. If she would perform all treatments for her patients, I would give her 10 out of 10. But because other doctors perform the treatments, I gave 8 out of 10.

Don’t expect Dr Shefali Shastri to perform all of your IUIs or monitoring. Be prepared to receive treatment from other doctors. Research and be your own advocate.

Protocols were not aggressive. Medications were conservatively increased for me. This is understandable because when I first tried clomid for my first cycle, I developed a 40 mm cyst. Dr Shastri was afraid I would develop ovarian torsion so she cancelled the cycle. I wish they would have scheduled more monitoring because I felt there were a number of times where I ovulated early and by the time I received my IUI it was too late. My nurse said they don’t rely on at home ovulation predictor tests.

I was lucky to have insurance cover all my IUIs, monitoring, HSG test, and endometrial biopsy. I had $50 copays for each visit. Mental counseling there was $175 fee paid directly to the Psychologist. This counseling session was required when using anonymous donor sperm. I believe it’s a higher cost when dealing with a known sperm donor. I had to pay $350 for genetic screening which RMA required I complete prior to starting the cycle. And then for each new donor sperm, I was required to do genetic counseling that fee was $75 each counseling session. And had to pay for donor sperm out of pocket. For my 6 IUIs, I calculated that we’ve spent a little over $10,000. My insurance covers IVF, but there’s a fertility mandate in NJ. This mandate requires me to complete a total of 12 failed IUIs before being required to cover IVF. Hopefully the law will be changed soon. My wife and I decided to do IVF at a different fertility clinic. They have a more affordable price for IVF. Just waiting for this Coronavirus shut down to end to start my cycle.

I have not done IVF yet, but from my understanding RMA will only transfer 1 embryo.

Dr. Shastri is hopeful but realistic. She was honest with us from the beginning and makes you feel like she is going to do everything in her power to get us to where we want to be. Throughout our journey (which we are still on) she would take the time to explain all of our options, answer questions and give us her option.

Do your research and go to your consultation with questions. She will take the time to answer all of them and not make you feel rushed.

We were going to start with an IUI but my insurance decided not to cover it when they saw I had a partially dilated tube. Dr. Shastri did a peer to peer with my insurance provider to try to justify the coverage but they wouldn’t budge. We decided to move forward with IVF. We started with the protagonist protocol taking the highest dose of Gonal f and low does HCG. I wasn’t reacting to the medication but we decided to keep going as my estrogen was slowly rising. After 15 days we had one follicle that was looking good and we were planning on doing the retrieval since I have DOR and didn’t want to waste a good egg. Unfortunately at my last appointment my estrogen had gone down and Dr. Shastri didn’t want to put me under for just one egg that she didn’t think was viable anymore. She also was considerate of my insurance situation and didn’t want to use all of my coverage on the surgery that she wasn’t confident would yield the results we wanted. We took a break and are now in the process of trying the Lupron Flair protocol.

Dr. Shastri (Mavani) has been my RE for the last two years. I've gone through three failed transfers after two hysteroscopies to get a fibroid and one laparascopy to remove my non functional tube. After going through all of the physical issues, we thought we were in the clear. Unfortunately, I had my third failed transfer at the end of June to no avail. The day of the beta, she left me a voicemail almost in tears and then the following Monday, sat with me for an hour and a half to discuss next steps. She hasnt been successful getting me pregnant just yet, but I have the absolute faith that it is coming.

She is a very fast talker, so if you dont understand something, speak up!

For the first three transfers, I was on estrogen twice a day and then PIO injections until the transfer. After the fails, we went a different route for a mock transfer and used Follistim to try to get my lining thicker and then triggered with Ovidrel and then PIO shots. The mock was to test my lining with an ERA test to see if the transfers were on the correct day.

Having a location near me definitely helped. Occasionally it was super swamped but for the most part I was in and out pretty quickly.

I was covered by my insurance for my first 3 transfers. I will be doing another one soon and I was informed the cost would be $6k.

RMA will only do 1 embryo transfer I believe (with the exception of rare cases) on the first transfer. My lining wasnt thick enough to transfer two. I am hoping the next one the lining will get thicker and we can transfer two. Dr. Shastri is okay with this.

I am so glad to have found her. I am really happy with Dr. Shastri's care. She is well-versed in the literature but does not treat me like a number. I was referred to her by one of the docs that had trained her as a fellow - someone that has an excellent reputation and to whom I would go for treatment if my insurance covered it.

ask all of your questions. She talks fast, so be ready to listen carefully and ask for things to be repeated if you need.

I really don't remember other than I did 2 FETs (so far, a third is planned). The first was a medicated protocol which I ovulated through. It ended up being an unsuccessful FET - negative beta with a PGS normal embryo. The second was a natural cycle, which I liked so much better. I wish we had discussed medicated vs. natural upfront because if we had, I would have chosen natural for the first FET. Of course, I'll never know if it would have made a difference. Second FET was a chemical, so at least we got a positive beta! Those were not PGS tested embryos so assume the chemical was due to abnormal embryos given my age of 42 when they were retrieved.

it was usually fine - in and out in an hour or less. much quicker if bloodwork only. phlebotomy is well staffed, efficient and friendly. on weekends you have to travel to the "mother ship" which is kind of a pain but i didn't really mind.

I had insurance coverage so had a $2500 annual out of pocket and then minimal costs. meds were a few hundred $ only for each cycle, also thanks to my insurance coverage.

she did, and I agreed with her.

I have PCOS and am overweight, Dr. Shastri was very patient for our 1st year of treatment and just kept encouraging me to lose weight. When we finally got cleared for our first treatment cycle, my mom passed away and a month later my father had open heart bypass surgery. During what was an extremely stressful time, Dr. Shastri was extremely supportive. She has encouraged us to continue healthy lifestyle choices and praises the loss we have achieved.

Don't be afraid to ask questions and write things down

We used follistim and ovidrel for the iui cycles. The cycles we did not do iui, had the same medications. My body responded very well and a few follicles matured each time. It was also recommended to be on Metformin for the PCOS and synthroid for thyroid levels.

I have not had ivf or transfers yet, that is the next step if this current iui cycle fails.

Dr. Shefali Shastri is a very skilled and knowledgeable reproductive endocrinologist. She is realistic in her expectations and explains all diagnosis, procedures, and results throughout treatment. She is kind, caring and compassionate. Dr. Shastri puts her all into her work, and will do all that she can to get a positive result. I would recommend her to anyone who is looking for a great RE.

Do not be afraid to ask questions! Dr. Shastri wants you to fully understand what is happening every step of the way. She is always there to answer any questions that you may have.

IVF cycle #1: September, 2016 450 units Follistim 20 units low dose HCG Ganirelix Pregnyl trigger 10 eggs retrieved, 2 blast embryos, 1 ccs normal male IVF#2/IUI: October, 2016 cancelled and converted to IUI 450 units follistim 20 units low dose HCG Ganirelix Pregnyl trigger 2 follicles developed on right side (with only remaining tube). Therefore, the cycle was changed to IUI to see if we would have a successful IUI attempt. Negative beta IVF #3: November, 2016 450 units follistim 40 units low dose HCG Ganirelix Pregnyl trigger 6 eggs retrieved, 2 blast embryos, 1 CCS normal male *increased stim protocol for better egg response Transfer #1: December, 2016 1 mg esteogen twice daily 5 days prior to transfer: 1 mL progesterone in sesame oil 1mL progesterone in sesame oil continued until beta test Antibiotic for 7 days during Antibacterial cream inserted vaginally prior to transfer Progesterone inserted vaginally prior to transfer on the day of 1 4BB male transfered Negative beta IVF #4: 450 units Follistim 40 units low dose HCG Ganirelix Pregnyl trigger 16 eggs retrieved, 2 blast embryos, 0 CCS normal IVF #5: 450 units Follistim 50 units low dose HCG Ganirelix Pregnyl trigger 7 eggs retrieved, 1 blast embryo, 0 CCS normal *increased stim protocol for better egg response

Morning monitoring is very well run at this clinic. Walk in monitoring hours run on a first come first served basis. Hours are between 6-7:30 which is extremely convenient as a full-time working patient.

Insurance covered all infertility treatments in full with an unlimited lifetime maximum. Only had to pay office copay $35 and prescription drug copays. CCS testing for up to 10 embryos over multiple cycles $6,500.

Dr. Shastri recommended a single embryo transfer to avoid an "at risk" pregnancy. She felt there were better chances for success with transfering one embryo.

She has been very up-front about the probabilities of IUI working for us, and when I met with her to discuss IVF, she was very thorough in explaining how it works. I felt that I understood well enough to be able to explain IVF knowledgeably to my husband, who was unable to attend my appointment. As we move to IVF, I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Shastri.

Unless you go to the Springfield office regularly, it's possible you may only see her at your scheduled consultations, rather than at monitoring, IUI, etc.

For IUI: Gonal-F at varying levels (between 100-150 most times) depending on follicle growth, then 1Ovidrel for trigger each time. We did not have any successful IUI cycles, however. I was also advised to go on a low-carb diet as Dr. Shastri diagnosed me with symptoms similar to PCOS.

Our insurance has covered most costs. For monitoring, I have a co-pay only for ultrasounds, not bloodwork. We will have some out-of-pocket costs for IVF beyond what insurance will cover.

She looks at each person as an individual, she has some out of the box treatment options but is open and honest about the successes. She is caring, and has followed up with me on a regular basis to monitor my progress. I am very happy with her!

I would see her more often if I was in the Basking Ridge office, but I have been frequenting the Somerset as it's in close proximity to my home.

Letrozol and a double IUI after testing. Bloodwork at day 3 and day 11 to make sure I am progressing. Chlomid was unsuccessful 4x and this is what we are trying before proceeding to IVF.

One month and 2 IUI procedures out of pocket costs were $650, with ultrasounds, bloodwork, tests, etc being covered by insurance. The finance team made sure to explain all costs and what I should expect. They were very helpful and well-informed on my insurance provider

She was very caring and compassionate. She was positive and made me feel like this could really happen for us. At our first meeting she was really good at learning more about us and connecting with us on a personal level.

I would say to trust her. She is agressive with treatment when it’s needed and only has your best interests at heart.

We used the Microdose Lupron Flare protocol with a high dosage of stimulation medication. At my first clinic they used a very standard protocol even though I had a low number of follicles. We only got 5 eggs and the quality wasn’t good. We were almost cancelled and had to have my meds upped 4-5 times. Dr. Shastri was aggressive right off the bat. She said she was going to get me 10 eggs and I told her there was no way. I got 11 eggs and 6 great quality embryos. We transferred two and both stuck. I lost one of them early on, but the other became my son.

There was a good window to arrive for monitoring. There were a lot of people there, but it was run very well.

I was well educated on the benefits of eSET and that is for the most part recommended at RMA. However, with my negative results in the past plus my age and diagnosis, Dr. Shastri felt comfortable allowing me to transfer two embryos.

I cannot rave enough about her. I still refer people to her and as I counsel people on infertility I call her to ask her advise and to explain things to me. She has become a friend, and was always my partner. I would research and ask her about my findings and she never had an ego and was always willing to listen and appreciative that I wanted to be my own advocate.

SPEAK UP! She will listen.

I had a antagonist protocol but when implabtation didnt occur, she brought up the idea of an edometrial biopsy to make sure my lining was optimal. When antibiotics didnt work, we did a suction D&C and got a fresh lining. It became standard in my protocol. I asked about HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE to get my embryos to blasts. She said there was research that it worked in some, but no corrolation to those it did. It was costly, but if i wanted to try it, she was up for it. She was always open to my suggestions.

I always needed to get to work so I came 30 minutes before so I could be the first one seen and be in and out.

I had insurance but still needed to pay some deductibles with medicine and other issues. $7,000 PGS banking and such.

I wanted multiple, I was insistant on it, so she listened.

Dr Shastri is kind, compassionate and smart. She was my doctor for the past 5 years, and she helped me create the family I have today. Although I was an extremely complicated case, Dr Shastri never gave up on me. Instead she would brainstorm to try all possibilities. She always made sure I was receiving the best care.

It can all be extremely overwhelming. Try to take it one step at a time. Dr. Shastri and the team at RMA work really hard to cover all the bases and make sure you are receiving the best care.

I was very lucky in that majority of my infertility treatments were covered by my insurance. I opted to pay for genetic testing of the embryos out of pocket.

My doctor performed single embryo transfers and I agreed with this decision.

Dr Shastri was so compassionate. She personally called me when our results were unfortunate. She spent time with us without rushing us. She also made us feel like we could take all the time in the world asking as many questions we liked. We were unsuccessful but not due to the doctor. I wish I had started with her from the start of our journey.

Be open and honest as Dr shastri will guide you along the way. Email her any time you don’t understand something.

Antagonist my first cycle: 2 eggs retrieved. Did not make it to day 6 blastocyst. Micro flare the second cycle. 5 eggs retrieved. Three fertilized. All made it to do 5 blastocyst. All tested abnormal.

We used Attain for outside prepay financing

Prefers set

Doctor Shastri is such a great doctor. She has great bed side manner, she is very caring, very compassionate, she makes sure you are comfortable and all together she is wonderful. I would definitely recommend her to everyone.

I would tell a prospective patient to just listen to what she has to say because she knows what she is talking about.

I am on progesterone in oil, progesterone suppositories 3x day, benadryl 3x day, delestrogen needle, metformin, doxycycline, methylprednisolone

At Rmanj they feel eSet is the way to go. For me it definitely is since I have an abnormal uterus

dr. Mavani is very compassionate . She was there to hear my concerns and adjust the treatment plan when necessary . She adjusted her schedule to fit me in for the additional testing that was required after my first FET failed

Explore all your options and write all the questions down before your consultation

For the egg retrieval I was injecting 450 units of follistim until the egg retrieval . I wanted the option of CCS of the embryos, until I got the results I was started on a birth control pill once the results were in i was recommended a medicated FET. I was using Pio injections and oral estrace

So far around 25k Everything is out of pocket for me

She does her research on you before your appointment. She did not keep me waiting in the waiting room. She was compassionate of the intense emotional roller coaster I am going through. Her nursing staff calls regularly to check-in and handled my emergency well. Lastly, she looks at each patient as an individual, not as a number.

I'd prefer it if I was in the basking ridge office, since I'd see her more often, but overall very happy with her and RMA NJ

I am currently on medication to level my insulin. I am undergoing letrizol treatment and ovidrel shots with two back to back IUI procedures.

Dr. Shastri is incredible! She is kind, empathetic, honest, brilliant, thinks outside the box, invested in your goals and extremely caring. She got me through many difficulties, physically as well as emotionally. She is straightforward and blunt in the most caring way.

Get ready to jump on the Shastri train! She’ll get you to your goal no matter what roadblocks get in the way.

I began my fertility journey wanting a double embryo transfer. After listening to and empathizing with me, Dr. Shastri explained the many reasons why, for me, an SET gave me a greater chance at having a healthy baby and mom than a DET.

Very kind and compassionate. Great doctor - always thoroughly explains what’s next and adjust our course of action. I feel very comfortable with her and feel she truly cares about her patients and wants success for them

You’ll be lucky if she is you doctor

We have tried gonal f, menopur for Retrieval cycle Transfer we have tried stimulated cycle and natural cycle. Medrol Benadryl baby aspirin gonal f ovidril estradiol projesterone suppository and project in oil

Insurance covered a lot thankfully but we have spent thousands out of pocket

Dr. Shastri took a good amount of time to talk to me at the outset. I like her style and approach, which is direct but still compassionate. She practices with RMA, and in order to have doctors available 7 days a week (and on a schedule that works great for me) I see different doctors for my monitoring and procedures. It gives me comfort that I won’t miss something due to scheduling issues, given how this process works and how important timing is.

$3000 for IUI