Getting Started

a blog by David Kreiner, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.

I've received an enormous amount of email recently from patients asking me for information about how they should get started with their infertility workup. Apparently, they are women, men and couples who have experienced difficulty conceiving and now want some direction about how they should proceed. Building a family was something they had imagined their entire lives to be a natural progression -- from student to career, getting married then having a family -- and they’re frustrated that their difficulty conceiving has affected their lives. For many -- some of whom have never experienced a health problem -- it prevents them from appreciating or even doing anything else.

See an RE for a Fertility Workup

My response to these emails is that the patients seek assistance from an infertility specialist, a reproductive endocrinologist, whose specialty and experience is in helping infertility patients conceive. A reproductive endocrinologist has two to three years of additional specialty fellowship training in infertility after completing an OB/GYN residency.

The RE will conduct a history and physical examination during your initial consultation. This exam typically includes a pelvic ultrasound of a woman’s ovaries and uterus. He can tell if there are any uterine abnormalities that may affect implantation or pregnancy as well as assess ovarian activity and rule out cases of moderate or severe endometriosis.