Throughout our Infertility Journey, there have been a few questions that I've straight up ignored answering or answered very vaguely. I didn't do this to be rude, but did this for privacy matters. At the time, I wasn't comfortable sharing what fertility clinic we went to or which doctor I saw because those questions just felt very personal to me. Plus, I was there a LOT so I felt the need to keep those things private because I didn't want some creeper showing up to an appointment or something. (The internet is a beautiful thing, but there are WEIRDOS out there & ya gotta be safe, friends)
But now that we have "graduated" from our Fertility Clinic, I wanted to share our opinions and experiences with Utah Fertility Center with all of you. Infertility is TOO prevalent and I know this will help someone, so I'm sharing this for whoever needs it. All opinions are my own, UFC doesn't even know I'm sharing this.
Q: Why did you choose Utah Fertility Center?
A: We looked into quite a few options (both in and out of Utah) and when it came down to it, UFC just felt right.
Q: Who is your doctor? What doctor do you recommend?
A: Our primary doctor was Dr. Jason Parker. We really loved working with Dr. Parker. He answered all of our questions and helped us feel comfortable and his staff is incredible.
Dr. Dorais also helped us a little bit (well, a lot). She performed our Frozen Embryo Transfer and even though she wasn't our primary doctor, she was so comforting and kind.
I honestly haven't heard anything bad about any of the doctors at UFC and would be comfortable recommending any one of them. But the doctors we had experience with were Dr. Parker and Dr. Dorais.
Q: Which location did you go to?
A: We went to the Pleasant Grove location. Even when we lived in Salt Lake. We started treatments when we lived in Provo, moved to Salt Lake and then moved back to Utah County and we just stayed at the Pleasant Grove location. We really like the staff and facilities there.
For those who may not know, Utah Fertility Center has locations in Pleasant Grove, Murray, Ogden, St. George, and Idaho!
this is our little embryo right after our Frozen Embryo Transfer!
Q: What was the rest of the staff like?
A: Honestly, SO NICE. I always felt like my questions were valid and never like I was asking too many questions or silly questions. They always made sure to explain exactly what was happening-- which I really appreciated. They were constantly giving us papers and brochures about what was happening and what we could expect from whatever treatment we were doing. They kept us very informed and I really appreciated that.
Q: What were their prices like? Do they take insurance? Did your insurance cover anything?
A: Their prices are competitive, but not outrageous. They do take insurance. And no, our insurance didn't cover anything…
RELATED: How to Pay for IVF
Q: How long did you go there?
A: We went to UFC for 2.5 years.
Q: Did you go to an OBGYN first?
A: Yes, and quite honestly, I had a terrible experience with the OBGYN I saw, so our experience at UFC was very refreshing.
Q: Did you ever switch clinics or doctors?
A: Nope. We went from an OBGYN to UFC and loved it so much we stayed. The only exception to having a different doctor was Dr. Dorais performing our FET.
Q: Did you have to get a referral to go there?
A: Nope. I just called and made an appointment.
Q: What was your clinical trial experience like? How were those visits different than regular clinic visits?
A: You can read my Clinical Trial Experience here. But the visits differed mostly because we weren't allowed to know what was going on for the most part and we worked more closely with the Study Team.
RELATED: What It’s Like to Participate in a Clinical Study
Q: What was your favorite part of going to UFC?
A: I loved how good they were at communicating with me as a patient and how no questions or concerns were too over the top.
Q: Were there any negative aspects? What would you change?
A: I had one more negative experience with a nurse over the phone (she was just a little grumpy), but I just chalked that up to her having a hard day or something.
Q: How involved were they in your journey?
A: I mean, they helped us get pregnant… so pretty involved, I'd say...
Q: How did they update you on medication dosages?
A: A nurse would call at night with any updates from Dr. Parker.
Q: Did you get your medications from their recommended pharmacy or did you get a prescription and go elsewhere?
A: We got our medications from their recommended pharmacy. We basically trusted them with everything that came with this experience.
blurry… but our VERY LAST PIO shot!!!
Q: What would you recommend for preparing for a first visit to a fertility specialist?
A: Have a list of your questions and concerns written out. Be your own advocate-- the doctor doesn't know your family history or your body at the consultation, so if you have hunches or suspicions, be vocal about them and ask to get those things checked out during your diagnostics appointments.
Q: Would you consider going to a different fertility specialist or clinic?
A: At this point, no. We love UFC, they have all of our embryo babies and we trust them. They have been really fantastic for us and we couldn't recommend them enough.
We honestly couldn’t recommend Utah Fertility Center enough. In fact, we have recommended it to quite a few of our close friends and so far we are 2 for 4 in our friends getting pregnant after going to UFC. They really are miracle workers there and we are so grateful that we’ve had UFC on our team as we navigated through this journey!
