Answers
Frequently asked questions
Common questions — about fertility care, what it costs, what insurance and employers cover, and what MyBabyBridge does and does not do.
Written and reviewed by the MyBabyBridge editorial team · Last reviewed · General information, not medical advice. Our editorial standards
About MyBabyBridge
- What is MyBabyBridge?
- A fertility navigation service. We explain options, costs, and coverage in plain language, reply to inquiries by email with general next-step information, and talk with employers about fertility benefits. We plan to build a network of local clinics that can perform IVF monitoring closer to where people live.
- Is MyBabyBridge a clinic?
- No. We do not examine patients, order or interpret tests, prescribe medication, perform procedures, or hold medical records. Care is delivered by licensed clinicians and the organizations they work for.
- What does it cost a patient?
- Nothing. Sending an inquiry and receiving general next-step information is free, and we do not sell your information.
- How fast will I hear back?
- We review every inquiry and reply by email with general next-step information. We do not promise a specific response time. Forms are not monitored continuously, so do not use one to report urgent symptoms — contact a clinician or emergency services instead.
Getting started with fertility care
- How long should I try before seeking help?
- The common threshold is twelve months of trying under age 35, six months at 35 or older, and sooner if there is a known factor such as irregular cycles, endometriosis, prior cancer treatment, or a male-factor concern. A clinician can confirm what applies to you.
- Should my partner be tested too?
- In couples with a male partner, a semen analysis is part of a complete first evaluation. Male factor contributes to a large share of cases and the test is inexpensive and fast, so skipping it can waste months.
- Do I have to start treatment after an evaluation?
- No. An evaluation produces information. Treatment is a separate decision with its own evidence, alternatives, and cost, and you can take time or get a second opinion.
- Can I get a second opinion?
- Yes, and for an expensive or repeat treatment plan it is reasonable. Ask for your records, imaging, and any embryology or lab reports so the second clinician is reading the same data.
Cost, insurance, and paying for care
- What does IVF actually cost?
- Published estimates put one US IVF cycle at about $15,000 before medication, with medication adding roughly $5,000 (Cleveland Clinic). Total spend is often much higher because many people need more than one cycle, and genetic testing, embryo freezing, storage, and frozen transfers are often billed separately.
- Does insurance cover IVF?
- It depends on your state, your employer, and whether your plan is fully insured or self-funded. State mandates generally do not reach self-funded employer plans, which is why two people in the same state can have very different coverage.
- What should I get in writing before starting?
- An itemized estimate covering monitoring, retrieval, anesthesia, laboratory and embryology fees, genetic testing, freezing, first-year storage, medication, cancellation policy, and what a repeat cycle would cost.
- Are there grants, loans, or refund programs?
- Yes — nonprofit grants, clinic multi-cycle or refund packages, and specialist medical lenders all exist. Read refund programs closely: eligibility is usually restricted by age and test results, and what counts as a qualifying failure is defined in the contract.
Success rates
- What is a good IVF success rate?
- The question is incomplete without a denominator and an age band. A rate per embryo transfer will usually look better than the same clinic's rate per cycle started, because cycles that are cancelled or never reach transfer are left out of the per-transfer denominator.
- Can I compare two clinics by their published rates?
- Not directly. Both CDC and SART caution against comparing or ranking clinics by their published success rates, because clinics treat different patient populations and follow different practices.
- How many cycles do people usually need?
- Cumulative live birth rates keep rising over several retrievals for many patients, so a single cycle's result is a poor predictor. Ask your clinic what your cumulative chance looks like over two or three cycles, not just one.
Employer benefits
- How do I find out what my employer covers?
- Ask your benefits administrator or HR for the plan document language on infertility and fertility services, and ask specifically about lifetime maximums, whether medication and storage are included, and whether a particular network or administrator is required.
- Will my employer know I used the benefit?
- That depends on your plan: most fertility benefit vendors report aggregate data to employers, but what a plan sponsor can see varies, so ask HR or the vendor exactly what is shared. Your use of this website is separate from any benefit, and we never report an individual inquiry back to an employer.
- What does a fertility benefit cost a company?
- It depends on headcount, utilization, and plan design — a navigation-only design costs far less than funded treatment coverage. The cost calculator lets you model your own numbers before talking to a vendor.
Monitoring and clinic partnerships
- What is satellite monitoring?
- During stimulation you may need ultrasound and bloodwork every one to three days, usually early in the morning and often scheduled the day before. Satellite monitoring lets a qualified clinic near you perform those visits and send results to the treating clinic.
- Does my treating clinic have to agree?
- Yes. The treating clinic remains responsible for your cycle and decides which outside monitoring it will accept, which measurements it needs, and in what format and by what time results must arrive.
- My office already does ultrasound and bloodwork — can we join?
- Tell us about your capabilities through the clinic partnership form. Licensure, clinical responsibility, quality controls, turnaround times, capacity, and contracting all have to be confirmed in writing before any relationship exists.
Privacy
- What information do you collect?
- Only what you type into an inquiry form: name, contact details, ZIP code, and the general nature of your inquiry. We do not ask for medical records, diagnoses, symptoms, or test results. The patient form does ask what kind of help you are looking for, such as a fertility assessment or a semen analysis, and that answer can itself reveal health information. It is stored with our hosting provider (Amazon Web Services) and delivered by email to the MyBabyBridge team, like the rest of your submission.
- Do you sell or share my information?
- No. Submissions are not shared with employers, clinics, or vendors without your separate written consent, and this website sets no advertising or tracking cookies.
- How do I have my information deleted?
- Inquiries are kept as long as needed to respond and follow up. Email hello@mybabybridge.com to ask what we hold about you or to have it deleted.