When you’re eager to have a baby but you’re struggling to conceive naturally, it can be tempting to contact the first fertility clinic you stumble across and proceed with treatment as quickly as possible. However, when you’re spending a lot of money, it’s important to ensure you’re investing your money wisely. We’d like to help you understand what you should be looking for when seeking a private fertility clinic. Just remember, a little research goes a long way!
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Fertility Clinic:
Are You Eligible?
At Concept Fertility, we do not exclude patients who have a lower than average probability of a successful pregnancy. In other words, if our patients have a chance of success we are happy to offer treatment. We would never reject a patient if, for instance, their sperm or eggs suggest a poorer prognosis. Other fertility clinics may reject such patients, simply because treating patients with poor prognoses will lead to a reduced headline average success rate for the clinic. This brings us onto our next point…
What Are the Success Rates?
Not all cases of IVF and other fertility treatments are successful. Before you choose a fertility clinic, check their success rates against National Data, particularly for your particular age group. This will help you understand your likelihood of success and whether or not treatment is worth your time and money. Bear in mind that clinics who carefully select who they are willing to treat, based on the likelihood of success, will have higher average success rates but this will make absolutely no difference to your own personal chances of success.
National data suggests that there is not a huge difference in the success rates of clinics once you allow for the different types of patients treated. In fact, the sector Regulator states “most clinics are broadly as good as each other”. Given this independent fact, you should investigate further if any clinic claims that their success rate is significantly better than the national average. You should not blindly go to any clinic whose website publishes extraordinary high success rates if the Regulator says their comparable success rates are actually similar to the national average.
What Treatments Are Available?
There is a range of fertility treatments available, some a lot simpler and more affordable than others. The kind of treatment you require will be entirely personal from patient to patient, so it’s important that the fertility clinic you end up choosing offers the most appropriate treatment for you. Don’t choose a treatment simply because it appears to be the cheapest or the only one available at a particularly clinic. Make sure you’re clued up on all of your options and you’re happy with your final decision. Make sure your clinic is open about their prices and that any “essential” add-ons such as blood tests or ultrasound scans are included in the price.
At Concept Fertility, we provide an initial consultation in which we review your situation and your medical history, and discuss your treatment plan. Although we normally advise that you opt for the simplest treatment first, we will, discuss all of your options with you and help you make a decision that you’re completely comfortable with.
Does the Clinic Give You the Feeling of Warmth and Confidence?
Let’s face it, medical treatment is always going to have elements of invasiveness and uncertainty. At Concept, we are a small and dedicated team. We get to know our patients as individual people and try to treat them as we would like to be treated themselves. We do not have a huge staff and you would not expect to see a different person every time you visit.
Is Counselling Offered?
Many men and women going through fertility treatment experience a lot of emotional turmoil, particularly if the treatment is unsuccessful. Counselling can help alleviate symptoms of disappointment, anger, jealousy and loss, and explain the implications of treatment so it’s worth checking whether or not the clinic you’re interested in provides easy access to a counsellor.
Another fantastic advantage of choosing Concept Fertility to help you become a parent is the fact that we offer that bit more. As well as working with a specialist fertility counsellor, we are also familiar with a variety of independent well-being practitioners who specialise in fertility and offer yoga, acupuncture, and emotional and nutritional advice.
If you are considering Concept Fertility as an option, please don’t hesitate to get in touch to book a consultation or ask any questions you may have. We also hold Open Mornings and Evenings where our Medical Director will speak to you privately and our nursing and patient services staff will be available to answer questions.