When the results from the fertility evaluation are in, the Reproductive Endocrinologist will look them over together with the couple and give his opinion about how likely each type of fertility treatment is to achieve a pregnancy for the couple. Although there are many types of effective fertility treatments, most patients will not medically qualify to attempt all of them. The opportunity for success, whether insurance will cover the services, and the total expense of the treatment will be different with each treatment type.
Timed intercourse is one of the most basic fertility treatments a Reproductive Endocrinologist will recommend for a patient. During a timed intercourse treatment cycle, the woman may or may not be placed on medication to assist with ovulation. Typically, the woman will be monitored by the Reproductive Endocrinologist on days 3 and 10 of her period. The Reproductive Endocrinologist will then instruct the patient to have intercourse on a specific day or series of days. The patient will then be tested for pregnancy approximately 10 days after intercourse. Timed intercourse is not a recommended treatment for most patients. This type of treatment has a good chance to be covered by insurance, is one of the least expensive, but is also the least effective.
A more commonly advised form of fertility treatment is intrauterine insemination. Depending on the doctor's intrauterine insemination protocols, the woman may be prescribed medication to increase ovum production or ovulation. Several times during her menstrual cycle the woman will be monitored by the doctor, using ultrasounds, blood tests, or both. The male partner provides a fresh semen specimen on the day of the insemination for the Andrologist to wash, leaving only healthy, live sperm. The doctor will then insert the sperm directly into the woman's uterus in a painless procedure. Ten days following the insemination the woman will have blood drawn to test for pregnancy. Intrauterine insemination may or may not be covered by an insurance policy, is moderately costly, and yields only moderate pregnancy results.
In Vitro Fertilization is yet another fertility treatment option. During an In Vitro Fertilization cycle, the woman is typically placed on egg stimulation medications. She will generally have frequent monitoring by the Reproductive Endocrinologist for a couple of weeks. When her eggs are ready, the doctor will retrieve the eggs from her body. The man will have provided a fresh semen sample on the day of the egg retrieval. The sperm and the eggs will combine to make embryos, or fertilized eggs. The embryos will be monitored by the Reproductive Endocrinologist and Embryologist. When the embryos are ready, they will be inserted into the woman's uterus in a process called an embryo transfer. The woman will be tested for pregnancy about 10 days after the embryo transfer procedure is performed. In Vitro Fertilization can be performed even if Timed Intercourse or Intrauterine Insemination are also recommended. This type of treatment is generally expensive, but provides the benefit of having the highest success potential.
Before any patient can decide which treatment to choose an fertility diagnostic work up should be performed. The results of the work up will be explained by the fertility doctor, along with each option's chance for pregnancy. Using the fertility doctor's opinion and the patient's financial plans will allow the couple to make a calculated fertility treatment choice.
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