In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

When you want to grow your family but find it difficult to conceive, ask your doctor about in-vitro fertilization (IVF), a laboratory-based method of assisted reproduction. The IVF procedure combines sperm and egg to create an embryo and shows higher success rates than other fertility treatments. Following the laboratory process, your fertility doctor at OU Health expertly transfers the fertilized egg into the uterus, which allows the embryo to grow.

Advanced Fertility Treatment Near You

When you’re ready to pursue IVF as a treatment option, talk with your doctor and OU Health’s expert reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) physicians in Oklahoma City. At OU Health, you benefit from a comprehensive fertility program that applies the latest information, education, technology and research to deliver IVF success rates consistently higher than the national average.

You’ll work with OU Health fertility specialists who follow guidelines set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine designed to help reduce the chances of a pregnancy with multiple gestations as a result of your IVF treatment.

If you face a cancer diagnosis and concern for fertility preservation, IVF may offer good options for your future family.

Is IVF Right for Me & My Family?

At OU Health, you gain access to a full range of reproductive and fertility diagnostic tests, including an onsite laboratory that delivers fast results to help you and your doctor evaluate the benefits of IVF. You may qualify for IVF if you experience reproductive conditions such as:

• Endometriosis
• Fallopian tube damage or blockage
• Genetic disorders
• Impaired sperm production or function
• Ovulation disorders
• Previous tubal sterilization or removal
• Unexplained infertility
• Uterine fibroids

Options Beyond IVF

You and your OU Health reproductive specialists will discuss which fertility treatment offers the greatest opportunity for success. Beyond IVF, you and your doctor may explore other options if you’re over 37 years of age, overweight, unable to produce healthy eggs or want to avoid using donors, or if you experience abnormal hormone levels, fibroid tumors, ovarian dysfunction or uterine abnormalities. Talk with your doctor about fertility services other than IVF to grow your family.

Insurance Concerns & Financial Support for IVF

Insurance coverage and reimbursement for fertility or infertility treatment involves complex issues and many variables to determine whether or not carriers will provide support. Review your policy and talk to your insurance agent to understand your specific situation.

The majority of insurance plans fall into one of three categories.

1. The plan provides no coverage at all for infertility services.
2. The plan provides coverage only for the diagnostic phase of infertility services.
3. The plan provides coverage for the diagnostic phase and for some – but not all – infertility treatment services.

This means that before you consider IVF and, especially, before you begin treatment, you need to:

• Know your insurance plan. Talk directly with your insurance carrier or agent to find out specifically which infertility services (diagnostic services, treatments, procedures) are covered and which are not. Understand whether these services are covered in-network only or whether you have out-of-network benefits.
• Avoid letting the physician’s status as an “in-network” provider determine your selection of a fertility center. You may discover more options exist within your insurance coverage.

When you understand your plan – what it covers and what it doesn’t – you can make certain all decisions about your infertility treatment reflect your complete awareness of the nature and scope of related clinical, psychological and financial elements.

Your Expert IVF Care Team

Beginning with your first appointment, your expert OU Health IVF treatment team works with you and your loved ones to provide accurate information, precise evaluation and the latest advanced treatments, as well as optimal recommendations for care with compassionate support throughout the IVF process.

In addition to OU Health’s reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) physicians, your care team members also may include extensively trained maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialists, women’s health providers, men’s health providers, fertility laboratory specialists and nurses who all hold years of experience delivering comprehensive, reliable care and treatment you can trust.