The Fertility Treatment Process
Before your first visitBefore your first visit
- If your spouse or partner is not a patient of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, please register by calling 1-800-249-1767.
- Please obtain and bring to your initial visit with us any type of infertility work-up and treatment you have done previously. This might include blood work, a copy of a hysterosalpingogram report or a copy of x-rays, surgical notes, semen analysis, medications and In Vitro Fertilization cycles.
- We will send you a patient packet in advance of your first appointment. This packet introduces you to our department – physicians, nurses, and staff – and outlines our services, locations, and hours of operation. It also contains a questionnaire that we ask you to complete in advance and bring with you to your initial visit.
Your First Visit
The initial visit will be an opportunity for you to meet your physician, nurse and other members of the team. Your physician will obtain a medical history from you and your partner; we therefore strongly encourage you to have your spouse or partner accompany you to this initial visit. The completed questionnaire you received in your patient packet is also reviewed at this time.
Based on the information you share with us, your physician will order appropriate testing for you and your spouse or partner. Additionally, your doctor will review your history to ensure that you are as healthy as possible and up to date on any required testing, or immunizations, prior to becoming pregnant. Some of the things that we consider in “preconception planning” are outlined here.
If you have questions about any aspect of the testing, we also ensure you will have time to meet with your primary nurse to discuss it. Initial testing for infertility is now very abbreviated and consists of tests for both partners; we have listed these tests below.
Initial Testing
To help individuals and couples trying to conceive, Harvard Vanguard offers a range of diagnostic testing services including:
- Comprehensive hormonal blood testing (Cycle Day 3 testing, FSH, Estradiol, TSH, and Prolactin)
- Male infertility testing, including advanced semen analysis
- Advanced diagnostic testing including sonohysterogram, hysterosalpingogram, and ultrasound studies
- Evaluation of benign gynecological disorders that affect fertility such as uterine fibroids, endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
- Viral and bacterial cultures, to detect any possible adverse infections that may be interfering with conception
- For patients who are 40 years of age or older, we also perform a mammogram and a Clomid Challenge Test - a test to evaluate your ovarian function in response to the "challenge" of clomiphene citrate, which stimulates the release of hormones needed to cause ovulation.
Your Follow-up Visit with the Doctor
Once you have completed your fertility testing, you will meet with your doctor to review all of the test results and to decide on a treatment approach. We will work with you to understand your insurance coverage, and will plan an approach to treatment that optimizes your chances of success based on your individual circumstances. There is no "standard recipe" for fertility treatment, as the optimal "medical treatment" needs to be balanced with the individual desires of your family to find the most comfortable approach for you.
