At the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, we have years of experience helping couples and women have babies. Patients often travel from outside of Tucson to be treated by us, and it’s not just our long history of success that brings them here. While our primary goal is to help patients have a baby, we don’t want to put a financial strain on them in doing so. In fact, we strongly believe patients shouldn’t have to pay through the roof to start their family. Here are a few of the ways we help mitigate the costs and help you plan ahead so the fertility treatments you need can be more affordable.

We Explain Costs, Treatments, and Insurance Upfront & Take Everything One Step at a Time

When we first meet with a patient, we outline the expectations based on their age, how long they’ve been trying to get pregnant, and how long we expect it will take to get pregnant. During the first appointment, we’ll also go through the necessary tests and steps to determine why they’re not getting pregnant and the likely treatment options.

Typically, we start with the simplest and most affordable treatment options. Only when those are unsuccessful do we move on to other tests and procedures. As Dr. Gelety and our team will explain, many of these early evaluations are covered by insurance. And when insurance doesn’t cover a procedure or test, we have several packages and payment plans to make the costs of treatments less of a burden.

Not Every Couple Needs Expensive Treatments

When we follow this plan of simplest procedures to ones that are more complex, we find that many patients get pregnant quickly (sometimes even during the early part of the evaluation) and do not need more expensive treatments. Patients often come in thinking their only option is in vitro, and they’re going to have to spend thousands of dollars right off the bat. However, our goal is to identify the problem causing infertility and correct it, not push costly procedures if they are unnecessary.

Sometimes, patients become anxious every month they don’t get pregnant, but we try to encourage them by letting them know not everyone will get pregnant the first month and that there are still treatment options to consider. We try to help them understand that if they have a more challenging obstacle preventing their pregnancy, it may take a little longer, and we may have to use more intensive treatments to ultimately help them have a baby. But we are very judicious about moving on to the next set of treatments because we do know they can be more expensive, and we always want to keep our patients’ comfort levels in mind.

The idea is that it’s not one-size-fits-all; not everyone needs in vitro or a complicated and expensive treatment to get pregnant. There are many different causes of infertility; therefore, there are many different treatment options, and each one has its own chances of success. Not every part of the infertility treatment process needs to break the bank, and that’s something we remind our clients of as we go through this journey.

At AZCREI, We’re On Your Team

There are many different fertility clinics, and when you’re choosing one for your treatments, it’s important to consider the costs, success rate, and how much the doctors and staff really care. At AZCREI, we know that the medical aspects of infertility treatments can be stressful enough, so we try to do our part to manage everything we can do reduce the financial burden of the tests and procedures to make treatment costs more reasonable.

Our patients are very eager to start or grow their family, and we’re all on the same team and working toward the same goal. Our job is to help them achieve a pregnancy and have a healthy baby, not be burdened with financial stress. For more information on what starting a family may cost you, visit the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility online or call us at 520-326-0001.

When couples visit the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, they come in with questions and concerns about why they aren’t getting pregnant. While there can be dozens of reasons why a pregnancy isn’t occurring, we always start with asking the woman about her menstrual cycle. Because it plays such a crucial role in achieving pregnancy, here’s everything you need to know about your cycle and having a baby. 

What Your Cycle Says About Your Health

The menstrual cycle is one of the most reliable predictors of a woman’s health, stress level, and overall wellbeing. Cycles that are very regular and predictable usually suggest regular ovulation. However, women who have unreliable, irregular, or non-existent cycles will have issues with conceiving because the success of the ovulation is disturbed in some way.

Issues with a woman’s cycle—whether it’s irregular, very heavy, or painful—can be signs of serious endocrine or medical conditions, like endometriosis. So paying attention to the menstrual cycle and any changes that occur to it is very important not only in terms of a woman’s fertility, but for her health as well. 

Tracking Your Cycle

Since the menstrual cycle is such a significant indicator of your health and ability to get pregnant, it’s crucial to monitor and note any changes to it. The simplest way to track your cycle is to mark the day your period starts and ends on a calendar. With a few months’ worth of information, you’ll have an idea of what your cycle is like and what’s normal for you.

The length of the cycle can vary even in women with normal ovulation; it isn’t always exactly every 28 days. The time from ovulation to the next menstrual period is usually the most constant time, and variation in the cycle has to do with how long it takes for ovulation to occur.

From the beginning of the cycle to ovulation is typically about 10 days. A woman’s period starts 14 days after ovulation, resulting in a 24-day cycle. But if her period begins every 35 days, for example, that means she’s ovulating much later in the cycle, probably at day 18 or 20.

The time of ovulation is what is important to know when you’re trying for pregnancy; however, the biggest misconception most couples have is that there’s a very narrow window for conceiving during ovulation. The truth is, your chances of getting pregnant are very high for about 5-7 days before you ovulate and 5-7 days after ovulation. This is because subtle changes in the cycle can cause you to ovulate on a slightly different day. So if a healthy couple is frequently having intercourse and still not getting pregnant, timing is typically not the problem; there’s probably something else to blame.

What We Need to Know About Your Cycle

When we evaluate the patient and her partner for infertility, we take a very careful history regarding the woman’s menstrual cycle, and then we do a physical examination to determine if there are any other medical problems that may be preventing pregnancy. We make it a point to talk about the woman’s cycle and ask questions like:

• When did your last cycle start?
• Have you been on birth control? If so, what type?
• What was the purpose of your birth control (to prevent pregnancy, to regulate your cycle, etc.)?
• Are your periods ever heavy? Painful?
• Have there been any recent changes to your menstrual cycle?

With answers to these questions, we’re able to have a better understanding of the woman’s health and the regularity of her ovulation. For example, heavy bleeding or painful periods can be an indicator of a medical problem like fibroids, polyps, or endometriosis. And changes to the cycle can be caused by increased stress, weight fluctuation, or something more serious, like diabetes or a renal disease.

It’s very important for us to determine the underlying cause of the disruption of the menstrual cycle because they can be very innocuous and common, or it can be something very serious. About half of infertility issues that are related to a woman are due to irregular ovulation or a lack of ovulation. Thankfully, most medical conditions and hormonal problems are very easy to correct and when they are corrected, the woman is able to ovulate regularly and quickly achieve pregnancy.

At the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, we can work through the problems within a woman’s cycle to help her conceive and have a healthy baby. If you have any questions about your struggles with fertility or would like to make an appointment, contact us today by calling 520-326-0001 or visiting us online.

Many of the couples we work with who have infertility issues wish they had taken the steps to freeze their eggs when they were younger.

Egg freezing isn’t for everyone. For example, if a woman starts her family early in life, it wouldn’t make sense for her to freeze her eggs. However, egg freezing does offer several benefits to women who might wait to start a family for several different reasons.

1. It gives you the option to have children later in life.

Egg freezing gives women the ability to preserve the possibility of having children as they get older, wait to get married, or start a family. If a woman knows it’s going to be a while before she has children, but thinks she might want children in the future, the earlier she can freeze her eggs, the better.

The procedure gives a woman peace of mind that she will be able to have children later in life. Once her eggs are frozen, she can focus on other aspects of her life until she’s ready to have a baby. It’s a tremendous advantage that prevents women from having to deal with infertility issues once they do decide to start their family.

2. The eggs are healthier the younger you are.

As a woman ages, her fertility begins to decline significantly. The younger she decides to go through with the procedure, the more eggs we’ll be able to work with and the more likely we are to freeze eggs of high quality to increase her chance of pregnancy later on. Freezing eggs early on reduces the chance of miscarriages and other complications when a woman is older and ready for children.

Women actually reach their peak fertility at age 22, so the younger a woman is, the better the chances of freezing healthier eggs. However, several studies have shown that the ideal age for elective egg freezing for women is between 35 and 37. This is because fertility begins to decline when a woman is in her mid- to late-30s; yet freezing her eggs in her 20s isn’t always optimal since she can still easily start a family naturally within a few years.

3. It’s insurance in the event a serious medical issue arises.

Sometimes a woman is faced with a medical situation, like cancer or leukemia, and needs therapies and treatments that could render her sterile in the future. Although most modern treatments are successful and don’t end up affecting a woman’s fertility, freezing her eggs before she starts treatment gives her reassurance that she will definitely be able to have children after she’s healed and healthy.

Three Questions Every Woman Should Ask Herself

Before you elect to freeze your eggs, there are three questions your should ask yourself.

• Am I serious about having children in the future?
• Would I be willing to take steps to make sure that is going to be more likely rather than just hoping for the best?
• Am I willing to go through the financial investment and the small investment in time for the simple medical procedure to have that done?

Just because you elect to freeze your eggs, doesn’t necessarily mean we have to use those eggs to achieve a pregnancy. Even if you wait until later in life to get pregnant, there is still the chance that you can conceive and have a baby naturally. The frozen eggs are more of an insurance policy that ensures you do have the option to get pregnant whenever you choose to do so.

If you have specific questions regarding egg freezing or would like more information in deciding if it’s a treatment option you should consider, we’re here to help. Schedule an appointment for a consultation or procedure and contact the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility today by calling (520) 326-0001 or visiting us online.

When a couple is dealing with infertility issues, it can be stressful, frustrating, and sometimes confusing. Trying again and again to conceive without seeing any results can be extremely overwhelming and add unnecessary stress to a relationship. At the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, we look at solving infertility as a science. We take every procedure seriously, and handle every treatment with care and meticulousness, so that we can be successful in helping the couples we work with have a baby.

Infertility As a Science

When we work with couples dealing with infertility, we go about solving the problem one step at a time. We don’t just jump into procedures, we ask questions and create hypotheses, taking our time to help them achieve pregnancy as quickly and healthily as possible.

Part of solving infertility is also dealing with probabilities and striving to achieve a high rate of success. When couples try to get pregnant naturally—through intercourse—their chances of conceiving and when they will conceive come down to random probability. At our center, we take a scientific approach to control those random factors and help a couple to become pregnant at a 100 percent success rate.

The science of infertility is made up of two different fields of study: gynecology and endocrinology. Together, these two areas give us a clearer understanding of the overall picture when it comes to treating infertility.

Gynecology

Gynecology is the medical study of the health of the female reproductive system. It’s a specialized branch of medicine that looks at treating the conditions and diseases that affect a woman’s reproductive organs and their overall health. Typically, most gynecologists are also trained in obstetrics, which involves caring for women going through pregnancy and childbirth. But while obstetrics treats women who are pregnant, gynecology—what we deal with at our center—involves treating women who are not yet pregnant.

Endocrinology

The other aspect of treating infertility involves endocrinology. This field of medical study looks at the endocrine system, which controls hormones. An endocrinologist is someone who treats diseases or medical issues—such as infertility and reproduction—that are caused by problems with hormones.

Why It Matters

By combining these two medical fields, we are better able to pinpoint the causes of infertility, whether it’s male or female. We are also often able to eliminate or fix the medical issues to solve infertility before needing to move forward with any treatments or procedures.

We frequently meet with couples who believe their inability to get pregnant is because they’re being punished for a religious or moral reason. Some even believe they have a curse on them, and not being able to have a baby is just a fact of life they must accept. It’s important to remember that infertility is just like any other medical condition; if there is a problem with your heart or appendix, it’s not because there is something morally wrong with you, there’s an underlying medical issue. We try to be frank about the situation, find what is prohibiting the pregnancy, correct or bypass that medical issue, and help you have a baby.

Looking at infertility from a scientific mindset also means that we begin with a plan. So while having difficulty conceiving might be overwhelming for a couple at first, we remove the emotions and distress from the situation, so we have a better perspective on how to solve it. Ultimately, it’s our goal to take away some of that guilt or pressure and help you conceive a healthy baby.

We welcome the opportunity to walk with you on your journey to pregnancy, answer any questions you have, and help solve your infertility. To learn more about the options, visit us online or call us at 520-326-0001 to set up an appointment.

Often, when we meet with a couple experiencing infertility, whether it’s during the initial intake appointment or after the first in vitro treatment, they express their concerns about multiple pregnancies. These couples say they’ve heard stories about triplets or have seen news coverage of the “Octomom” and are anxious that there is a high possibility of anything other than a single birth.

At the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, we try to dispel those myths and give our patients clear expectations of what can actually be achieved with fertility treatments.

How the Myth Began

When fertility treatments were first developed, the process was not as sophisticated as it is now. It was common for women to conceive triplets, quadruplets, and even quintuplets. These types of stories would often make the local or national news and become very sensationalized. This would further the association of multiple births with fertility treatments, without really pointing out that those procedures weren’t of the highest quality or performed with the latest technology.

While Twins Are Still a Possibility…

Our goal at AZCREI is always to have a healthy single pregnancy, but it’s essential to note that twins are a fairly common natural occurrence. Growing up, most people have probably encountered or known a set of twins. Some of our patients even visit us with a desire to conceive twins, and as you’ll see in the photos in our office, twins can be a very memorable birth experience.

In fact, about 1.5 percent of natural pregnancies result in twins. Because they’re not that rare, any experienced OB/GYN should be comfortable with managing and delivering a healthy set of twins. So it’s acceptable to expect a slight probability of conceiving twins. But even with fertility treatments, the likelihood of twins is still in the single-digit percentile; we strive to keep that rate below 5 percent.

Multiple Births Are No Longer an Issue

At our clinic, we actually go out of our way to avoid a pregnancy of anything more than twins. Because we have a better understanding of pregnancy in general, we understand there are higher risk factors when it comes to multiple births. For example, it’s much easier for a mother to carry and deliver a single full-term baby than it would be with triplets. Depending on the circumstances, it can even be dangerous for both the mother and the babies. Pre-term labor, early deliveries, and other complications are more substantial with triplets or higher. We do everything in our power to avoid those types of pregnancies, because our ultimate goal is to help our patients have a healthy, happy baby.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)—an organization with the goal of advancing reproductive knowledge and expertise nationwide—has done a tremendous job in sharing the true multiple birth rates and fertility treatment successes. Improvements in treatments and technology have led to a better overall pregnancy rate without putting the patient at risk for multiple pregnancies. As a whole, the industry has been very successful in bringing down the number of multiple pregnancies in the last five to 10 years, and we’re very proud to say that the vast majority of our pregnancies are single births.

Again, it’s our goal to help our patients have a healthy, happy baby while accepting the small chance of conceiving twins. We want our patients to be able to start their family in a reasonable fashion, and that doesn’t necessarily entail having all their children at once. We welcome the chance to help you start this journey; to schedule your appointment at the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, contact us by calling (520) 326-0001 or visiting us online.

Often, when couples walk into a fertility clinic, they come in with several misconceptions. Part of our job at the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility is to debunk the myths with the facts. Aside from helping couples get pregnant, we want to give them confidence and a better understanding of what they’re walking into.

These are the five biggest infertility misconceptions out there, and the truth behind each one:

1. Infertility treatments are incredibly expensive.

The biggest misconception regarding fertility treatments and assisted reproduction techniques is that it’s horribly expensive. At the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, we keep the process affordable, because it’s important to us to help all couples get pregnant, regardless of their income. As these procedures have become more mainstream, the cost is becoming more reasonable. When couples visit us and find out how much procedures like IVF or egg freezing actually are, they are always surprised that the price is much more affordable than they expected—costing just around $6,000.

2. Actually getting pregnant isn’t likely to happen.

Another myth is that treatments are not all that successful. Many times we meet with couples who think they’ll never have a baby, even with visiting a fertility clinic. But with today’s technology and techniques, including embryo testing, it’s increasingly rare that a couple can’t have a baby together. The biggest stumbling block to them is not undergoing an evaluation and the subsequent infertility treatments. When patients come in and are fully evaluated and treated, just about 99 percent of those people are successful in having a baby.

However, it’s not guaranteed that the couple will get pregnant immediately. There’s a certain chance of pregnancy with each month we try. It’s very difficult for a woman to come off birth control and gets pregnant right away. The probability of pregnancy is related to many different variables—ovulation, timing of intercourse, fertilization rates, etc. So while it might not happen in the first month, within 3-6 months, the vast majority of our couples get pregnant.

3. Infertility treatments won’t be covered by insurance

Many patients come in thinking infertility treatments won’t be covered by insurance. They’re surprised to learn that even if they don’t have specific fertility coverage, a several of the underlying conditions and causes of infertility are medical conditions, and the tests and treatments associated with those actually are covered by insurance. Some, if not all, procedures and evaluations are covered by some type of insurance for at least 90 percent of our couples.

4. Everyone needs a high-tech treatment to get pregnant.

Along with believing that all infertility treatments are extremely expensive, many couples also believe that “high-tech” options like in vitro fertilization are the only options available to them. The truth is, about 90 percent of our patients get pregnant without the need for IVF. We spend a lot of time assessing and correcting the underlying issue that is preventing them from getting pregnant, so couples don’t need any other treatments. If a couple does need in vitro or another procedure, the option is always available, but it’s not necessarily the first method we recommend.

5. Infertility is a punishment or a burden to bear.

Whether it’s because of moral, religious beliefs, or otherwise, we often meet with couples who think their infertility is a curse or punishment. Many times, when people come in with the guilt and preconceived notions associated with that belief, they’re adding an incredible amount of stress to their relationship. We always try to explain that infertility is just like any other medical condition, and should be evaluated and treated as such. There’s an underlying issue that’s prohibiting pregnancy from occurring, and it’s usually a very simple medical problem that we can correct, fix, or bypass, to ultimately help you have a baby.

We welcome the opportunity to walk with you on your journey to pregnancy and answer any questions you have. To learn more about the options available to you, visit us online or call us at 520-326-0001 to set up an appointment.

More and more women and couples are coming to Tucson in the hopes of getting pregnant. While Tucson’s weather might be part of the allure—especially in the winter—the real attraction is the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.

People from all over the world are coming to our Tucson fertility clinic to conceive. The majority of patients are from Tucson and Phoenix, but many come in from California, Texas, and northern Mexico. The farthest patient we’ve helped was a woman from Africa who started her cycle in Africa, flew out to Tucson for treatment, and got pregnant before she returned home.

Here are three reasons couples and single women from all over the world are heading to the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in Tucson to get pregnant:

1. Success Rates

Perhaps the most important aspect to consider when choosing an infertility clinic is its success rates. Dr. Timothy Gelety and the rest of the team at Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility have been helping women and couples get pregnant for more than 20 years. We’re at an almost 30 percent pregnancy rate for a single live birth, and in fact, we are amongst the top 10 fertility clinics in the country.

Our success, in large part, is due to the quality of our laboratory; we are careful and meticulous when it comes to the stimulation and retrieving of higher quality eggs from our patients. Many clinics have their own in vitro laboratories, but our Tucson center stands out because of the exceptional, consistent quality of our lab and lab staff.

The reason couples and single women still come to us in the end is because they visit other clinics, and after multiple treatment attempts, still do not get pregnant. With our proven pregnancy rates, we are able to help these people. Many of them get pregnant even with the first in vitro treatment, because we have the experience and know what we are doing.

2. Pricing

Our quality of service doesn’t come at an extravagant price. We understand that insurance hardly covers infertility, and most people we work with are paying out of pocket; we don’t want cost to be a factor in our patients fulfilling their dreams of becoming parents. So, we keep our prices very reasonable. Our IVF package, which is a set price that covers all appointments and tests, is half the price of competing in vitro clinics.

We know that conceiving a baby is already an emotional part of our patients’ lives. That’s why we don’t burden them with more financial costs when they’re not necessary. We want to give our patients hope of a pregnancy and eliminate the worry about being financially strapped.

3. Team

To us, the in vitro fertilization process is second nature. But we realize that the couples and women we work with have generally never been through it; it’s a completely new experience to them. We’re very adamant about supporting our patients throughout the entire process—from reviewing treatment options to looking at what their insurance will cover and helping them manage costs.

Because we have a single doctor working with every patient, we get to know every couple and woman we work with. Our patients become a part of our family, and we truly take a personal interest and responsibility in helping them start a family.

It’s clear that the Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility has made Tucson a destination for getting pregnant. Wherever in the world you may be, we would welcome the opportunity to walk with you on your journey to pregnancy. Visit us online or call us at 520-326-0001 to set up an appointment.

Listen to a Recent Radio Interview with Dr. Gelety pointing out the “7 Things That Every Couple Need To Know When Having Trouble Getting Pregnant”