4 Things To Do Before Your First IVF Appointment

In vitro fertilization is a miracle worker for many women having difficultly getting pregnant. However, it's obviously not a first choice for pregnancy. Before you first IVF appointment, consider doing the following four things:

1. Get Your Vitamin D, MTHFR, and TSH Levels Tested: Make an appointment with your doctor if you are having trouble getting pregnant and have your vitamin D, MTHFR, and TSH levels tested. This is important because low levels of vitamin D can affect the possibility of getting pregnant while the MTHFR gene mutation could affect a healthy baby should you become pregnant causing you to possibly lose it. The TSH levels are also important because it needs to be in normal range to carry a healthy baby. If any of these tests come up as concerning, you can talk to your doctor about what changes might need to be made. Once these changes are implemented, you just might be able to get pregnant and carry a full term health baby on your own. 
2. Visit an RE: Rather than going to an OBGYN, you might consider visiting an RE. An RE is a reproductive endocrinologist and this is someone who is trained on the reproductive system. Your RE will be able to answer all of your questions and help you reach your goal of becoming pregnant and carry a full term baby. From here, your RE can also help you with the process of going through IVF. 
3. Get Tested for a Healthy Uterus: Before going through IVF, you also want to have your RE provide a test called a diagnostic hysteroscopy. This going to check your uterus to ensure that it is healthy enough to carry a full term baby. If not, then going through IVF is going to need to be held off. You might possibly need surgery first, which is important to know since it could save you thousands on the process of IVF because it's more likely to be successful once your uterus is in a healthy state. 
4. Talk About Your Personalized IVF Treatment: Finally, be sure that you talk to your RE about a personalized IVF treatment. This way, your specific health concerns are addressed. Plus, you'll have a more directed way of handling your pregnancy in a healthy way for you instead of just going by what's considered to be generally healthy for everyone since it might not be the same for you. 

Doing these five things before hand is sure to get you on the right track to a hopefully successful first round of IVF treatment. Contact a clinic, like Delaware Valley Institute of Fertility, for more help.