Chapter 42, Page 2

Many patients are still not very sophisticated when it comes to selecting their doctor. Most Indians follow a herd mentality, and believe that a busy doctor must be the best - after all, if so many patients go to him, he must be good. However, remember that you need to be more critical when making such a crucial decision - after all, you have to trust that your doctor's skills will provide you with the best treatment for your infertility. There is little point in going to a doctor who is so busy that he has no time to talk to you, or who cannot even remember your name!

Most gynecologists can provide basic infertility workup and testing - but you may prefer to look for a specialized infertility clinic which will provide all the services you need under one roof, especially if you have a complex problem. Many gynecologists are not really geared up to providing the care, which an infertile couple needs, and it's not much fun sitting in a room with pregnant women who have come for their obstetric care, if you are infertile.

The risks of going to a general gynecologist for treatment are:

  1. They may not have the expertise or specialized knowledge to treat your problem, since they may not be aware of recent advances in this field.
  2. They may not have access to the specialized tools needed to treat you, with the result that you may have to run around from the doctor to the lab to the ultrasound clinic for your treatment.
  3. They may not have a special interest in treating infertility, so that you may end up getting "second class" treatment.
  4. A common mistake many gynecologists make is that they keep on repeating the same treatment again and again - wasting valuable time and money in the process.

We often find that by the time patients come to us, they are so fed up and frustrated, since they have wasted so much time and money on repeating ineffective treatments, that they have lost confidence in doctors - and in themselves as well! Don't let this happen to you! While going to an infertility specialist can help you to ensure you are on the right track, this does entail the risk of "overtreatment" as well. Unfortunately, many infertility clinics are happy to do IVF for all infertile patients who come to them, whether or not they really need this!

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Credits: How to Have a Baby: Overcoming Infertility