When you need help starting or growing your family, selecting a fertility clinic is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. To help you narrow down the list of the best fertility clinics in New Jersey, Reproductive Medicine Associates (RMA) New Jersey has created this guide. It explains which metrics matter, the red flags to avoid in your search, and the questions to ask during your consultation.
What Metrics Matter When Reviewing the Best Fertility Clinics in New Jersey
When you’re selecting a fertility clinic to help you bring home a baby, it’s important to find a practice that combines effective treatment with personalized care.
- Look for a clinic that offers a full range of proven fertility treatments.
- Choose a team with experienced fertility specialists and a strong track record of success.
- Find providers who take the time to listen to your needs, answer your questions, and support you throughout the process.
You can learn a little bit about a practice’s approach to fertility care by reading online. However, a clinic’s marketing language can only give you so much information about a practice. Other metrics can offer powerful insights. Some examples include:
- Physicians who are board-certified reproductive endocrinologists (REIs)
- Lab accreditations from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) or Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)
- Fertilization and blastocyst development rates in the lab
However, arguably the most important measure to consider when comparing the best fertility clinics in New Jersey is SART-reported live birth rates. SART is the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.
This trusted organization measures in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates and other treatment statistics.
The most helpful statistic when you’re evaluating fertility clinics is the live birth rate. This measures the percentage of IVF cycles from a fertility practice that resulted in a live birth.
At RMA New Jersey, we are proud to have a live birth rate that exceeds the national average in all age categories. These statistics represent real patients that we have helped become parents.
Alt Text: Bar graph displaying the live births per new patient (patient’s own eggs) of the national average and RMA New Jersey
A comparison of clinic success rates may not be meaningful because patient medical characteristics, treatment approaches, and SART entry criteria may vary from clinic to clinic. You can view RMA New Jersey’s clinic summary snapshot report on SART or visit SART.org to learn more.
How Clinic Size and Specialization Affect Outcomes
Clinic size and specialization can also affect fertility patient outcomes. As a result, we recommend considering these factors in your search for a fertility clinic.
In terms of size, large, high-volume practices like RMA New Jersey offer unique advantages to patients that smaller practices cannot.
- We have multiple fertility specialists and support staff who collaborate to provide the best possible patient care.
- Our experts can address even the most complex causes of infertility, including IVF failure, recurrent pregnancy loss, and diminished ovarian reserve.
- With an extensive and highly specialized IVF lab, RMA can offer advanced laboratory procedures, including intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).
Our fertility specialists only practice reproductive medicine. Our physicians’ advanced training allows them to diagnose and treat the complex causes of both male and female infertility. Their experience also helps them handle cases involving third-party reproduction options, such as egg donation and gestational surrogacy.
Red Flags to Avoid in Your Search
When looking for the best fertility clinics in New Jersey, it’s also important to know what NOT to look for in a practice. Certain characteristics and behaviors are “red flags” that indicate you should consider another clinic. Below are some examples:
- Lack of transparency: Clinics should never hide their success rates or avoid talking about their treatment costs. You should feel like you have all the information you need to make an informed decision about fertility care.
- Aggressive upselling: While a fertility doctor should discuss all your options, they should never pressure you into rushing into IVF without first exploring more affordable treatments like intrauterine insemination (IUI).
- Transferring multiple embryos: Pregnancies with twins and higher-order multiples can be risky for both the mother and the babies. As a result, reputable fertility clinics shouldn’t routinely transfer multiple embryos.
- Unaccredited laboratories: From IVF to egg freezing, the laboratory plays an important role in the success of your treatment cycles. As a result, you should avoid labs that don’t have the necessary credentials (CAP and CLIA) and quality controls.
Finally, you deserve to work with a fertility practice that treats you like a unique individual, not a number. If you notice that your doctor seems rushed or ignores your questions, you can take that as a sign to look for a more attentive and respectful practice.
Questions to Ask During Your First Fertility Appointment
Your first fertility appointment is your opportunity to get to know one of the best fertility clinics in New Jersey. In fact, you can think of it as an interview. You’re selecting the practice and doctor who will help you on your path to parenthood.
To help you decide if a fertility clinic is right for you, we recommend asking about:
- Does your clinic have experience treating patients like me? For example, patients with endometriosis, those facing male infertility, LGBTQ+ patients, older patients, etc.
- Who is on the patient care team?
- Where do fertility testing and fertility treatment procedures occur?
- Which team members perform monitoring and fertility procedures?
- How often will I see the actual fertility specialist?
- How do I get in touch with questions during my care?
- Do you have early morning, evening, weekend, and holiday appointments?
Additionally, it can be helpful to learn about the clinic’s approach to fertility care by asking:
- What are my chances of conceiving?
- What types of fertility treatment do you offer?
- How will you help me select the best treatment plan?
- Do you have requirements for certain treatments?
- How many cycles of IUI do you perform before recommending IVF?
- What is your typical IVF timeline?
- Do you prefer fresh or frozen embryo transfers?
- What additional services (like ICSI and genetic testing) do you offer for IVF patients?
It’s also important to ask the clinic about the costs of fertility care and the different ways to pay for it. Some examples of these questions include:
- What is the cost of fertility care at your clinic?
- What services are included in this cost?
- Do you take my insurance?
- Do you have financing options or multicycle bundles?
Get the Fertility Care You Need and Compassion You Deserve
We are glad that your search for the best fertility clinics in New Jersey led you to RMA. Our unique blend of experience, high success rates, and compassion can help you bring home the baby you’ve been dreaming of. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and get started with fertility care.
