Infertility Doctors
Expertise to Help Infertile Couples To Achieve Pregnancy
It is estimated that as many as 1 in 10 couples may suffer
from infertility, defined as the inability to conceive following
12 or more consecutive months of appropriately timed intercourse.
Good thing that there are many diagnostic procedures and tests
available today to help infertile couples. While gynecologists
and obstetricians may be able to conduct basic screenings,
infertility doctors should be consulted if basic tests fail
to identify a cause for infertility.
Qualifications For Infertility Doctors
Usually, the infertility doctors are either gynecologists
who have taken additional training to specialize in infertility
disorders, or more commonly obstetricians or gynecologists
who have expertise in a type of medicine known as reproductive
endocrinology – their advanced studies typically focus
on the function of the female reproductive system, and reproductive
endocrinologists are experts both in bodily organs involved
in reproduction (ovaries, uterus and cervix) and also the
hormonal issues that might crash ovulation and pregnancy.
Besides, there are also some infertility doctors who specialize
in male infertility. Once again, these physicians may be reproductive
endocrinologists who focus on the male reproductive system
or they may be urologists who focus on structural issues that
can impact male fertility.
Most infertility doctors will undergo 2-3 years of formal
training, beyond what is standard for a gynecologist or obstetrician.
This formal training is usually carried out while working
with an established infertility doctor as an advisor and occurs
after doctors are certified as obstetricians or gynecologists.
In addition, reproductive endocrinologists should be board
certified in their field.
It is very important to make sure you are working with a
board certified reproductive endocrinologist if you feel you
may need to pursue advanced fertility treatments such as in
vitro fertilization. Board certified infertility doctors have
undergone formalized training in the techniques necessary
to help infertile couples achieve pregnancy.
How To Choose An Infertility Doctor
Before deciding on one infertility doctor, it might be better
if you could make contact with several infertility doctors
to ensure you choose a physician you feel totally comfortable
working with. Some infertility doctors are focused on finding
out the root cause of the infertility, while there are others
who focus more on helping couples to conceive as fast as possible.
In order to best achieve the target, it is important that
the infertility doctor’s approach to treatment is in
harmony with the couple’s goals and wishes.
On top of that, you might want to ask about what the success
rate is for each infertility doctor under consideration. You
might be surprised to find out that these rates can be surprisingly
variable and any reputable doctor or clinic should be willing
to provide them.
Patient load is another important factor to be considered
if couples want to be treated directly by the infertility
doctor they are working with. Most of the time, all these
information are handled by nurses, so interviewing and feeling
comfortable with the doctor’s staff may also be important.
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