Asking plenty of questions and doing a serious gut-check is critical to finding an IVF provider that’s right for you. You can get a lot of information from how the doctors respond to your questions and whether they take the time to answer them thoroughly. The first thing to know is that you are going to be spending A LOT of time at your doctor’s, especially around egg retrieval, when bloodwork and ultrasounds can be daily. So put yourself first: is the provider convenient for you to get to? Can you envision how daily appointments will fit into your schedule? Are you COMFORTABLE? Do you like the vibe of the waiting area?
‍For more, download our Checklist for Finding the Right IVF Doctor here!

A critical component to understanding your fertility and chances of success with IVF, is knowing your ovarian reserves, which decline with age. This is determined through a blood test that measures anti-Müllerian hormone levels. Knowing your AMH levels is an important tool to help you make decisions around IVF. If your levels are diminished, especially for younger patients, you may want to begin IVF treatment sooner than later.
‍Read my blog post about the importance of knowing your AMH levels as you begin IVF!

There’s lots of things no one ever tells you about IVF, even when you’ve been doing it for a while. For instance, it took me years to discover that if I do my injections very slowly, it reduces the swelling and discomfort around the injection site. Or when you’re doing those blood draws, make sure to show up as hydrated as possible - the more hydrated you are, the faster the draw. I wish I’d known I had choices - is a certain medication or protocol not working for you - maybe there’s another option. And small plastic water/soda bottles make great portable sharps-containers!
Looking for more IVF tips and life-hacks? Download them here!

An IVF Doula provides specialized, non-clinical support tailored specifically to IVF and assisted reproductive technologies. An IVF Doula has a body of knowledge and experience focused on the unique emotional, physical, and logistical challenges of fertility treatment, from medication cycles and procedures to uncertainty, decision fatigue, and waiting periods. A therapist, by contrast, is a licensed mental health professional providing long-term, clinical care, usually through weekly sessions. Therapy addresses broader mental health patterns and may include fertility stress, but IVF is not the primary organizing framework of care. Many people find the two roles complementary and choose to work with both.