Getting the Most Out of Your First Visit with a Fertility Doctor

You’ve spent a year trying to get pregnant and now you’ve decided to get help. Making the first step to see a doc can be overwhelming and anxiety provoking. If you know what to expect and go prepared, your anxiety will be reduced. This is a quick how-to guide for getting prepared:

1. When you call the office of your choice, ask them what you should expect. Every office is different. Your entire first appointment will probably last no more than an hour. After completing forms, discussing insurance, and perhaps being examined, you’re left with only 30 to 40 minutes of real “consultation.” To make the most of that talk time, you’ll need to be prepared.

2. Fill out the necessary paperwork the office requires before you arrive. If you arrive without filling it out, it will take away from the time you will be able to spend discussing your case.

3. What you will need to bring with you on your first fertility visit:

Bringing all prior records with you pertaining to your fertility will make your appointment much more informative for you. You can go ahead and request records from your ObGyn’s office to be sent ahead of time  but make sure before your first visit that the documents are there. Don’t assume that they are. Sometimes you need to do a little bit of leg work calling to make sure ahead of time that they’ve arrived. If they haven’t arrived, call your ObGyn’s office in advance and request that you pick them up in person. This way when you meet with your fertility doc, he/she has all the info in front of them and can start talking about treatment plans in advance. Youwant to have all bloodwork and semen analysis available to be reviewed. Have your own set of records also.

4. If you’ve been charting your cycles, bring in those records, too. If not, at least try to know where you are in your cycle on the day of your appointment. And, if applicable, have your partner’s medical records sent ahead or bring them with you, too.

5. Finally, come prepared with the questions you want to ask, preferably written down so you don’t forget anything. Consider taking notes or even recording the fertility appointment (but let the doc know that you’re recording the appointment in advance). That way, you can review the notes at home, when you’re more relaxed and better able to consider the options presented to you.

6. It Takes Two to Make a Baby: Ideally, your partner should accompany you on this first fertility visit. Infertility is a couple’s problem, and both people need to be there.