Questions to ask your fertility clinic
A first consultation is a lot: a stranger, a folder of your most personal history, and half an hour that feels like it will decide everything. Most people leave having asked half of what they meant to — not because they forgot, but because it's hard to think clearly in that room. That's normal, and it isn't a failing.
This list exists so the thinking is already done before you walk in. Take it with you, hand it to whoever comes along, or pick the five questions that matter most to you. A good clinic will welcome every one of them — how a clinic answers is itself information.
The people who'll look after you
1.Who will actually be looking after me — will I see the same consultant at each visit?
Why it matters: Continuity varies enormously between clinics. Knowing who holds your case — one named doctor or a rotating team — changes how supported the next months feel.
2.How many patients with a situation like mine did you treat last year?
Why it matters: Experience with your specific picture — your age band, your diagnosis — matters more than a clinic's overall size. A small caseload isn't disqualifying, but you deserve to know it.
3.If something worries me mid-cycle, how quickly can I reach someone — evenings and weekends included?
Why it matters: Mid-cycle questions rarely wait politely for office hours. Out-of-hours arrangements differ more than clinics tend to volunteer.
Success rates — and what they actually mean
Every UK clinic's outcomes are published by the HFEA, the regulator. These questions help you read those numbers the way the clinic reads them.
4.What are your success rates for my age band, per embryo transferred — and how do they compare with the national average?
Why it matters: Per embryo transferred is the fairest basis for comparing clinics, and the HFEA publishes it for every licensed clinic. A clinic that's comfortable with this question is telling you something good about itself.
5.Do you also publish outcomes per cycle started?
Why it matters: Per-transfer figures leave out cycles cancelled before an embryo was transferred. Per-cycle-started shows the fuller picture, including the harder parts.
6.How do you decide between transferring one embryo or two?
Why it matters: UK guidance favours transferring one embryo where suitable, because twin pregnancies carry meaningfully higher risks. The clinic's answer shows whether its policy is built around your safety or its statistics.
7.Knowing my history, where would you honestly expect my chances to sit relative to those averages?
Why it matters: Published averages describe groups; you'll live one specific outcome. This question invites the clinic to personalize — and to be honest about uncertainty rather than rounding up.
Costs and funding — ask everything
Money questions can feel awkward to ask out loud in a medical room. They are entirely legitimate, and the clinics worth choosing answer them plainly.
8.What would a full cycle cost me all-in — medication, monitoring, blood tests, freezing, storage, and follow-up included?
Why it matters: Headline prices often exclude medication and storage, and medication varies a lot between protocols. An all-in figure is the only number you can actually budget with.
9.Which add-ons do you commonly suggest, what does each cost, and what does the evidence say?
Why it matters: The HFEA rates common treatment add-ons with a public traffic-light system, and many carry limited evidence. A good clinic will happily put its recommendations next to that list.
10.Am I eligible for NHS-funded treatment, and will you help me with the referral?
Why it matters: NHS funding criteria vary by local area (your ICB), and the difference is thousands of pounds. Some clinics walk you through eligibility; others leave you to find out alone.
11.What happens financially if my cycle is cancelled or abandoned partway through?
Why it matters: Cycles do sometimes get cancelled — poor response, timing, illness. Knowing the refund position before it happens means one less thing to untangle at a hard moment.
12.Do you offer multi-cycle or refund packages — and can you show me the honest arithmetic on whether one makes sense for me?
Why it matters: Packages can genuinely help or quietly cost more, depending on your individual odds. The clinic has the numbers to lay this out; ask to see them side by side.
Your protocol, not a protocol
13.Why this protocol for me — what in my results points to it?
Why it matters: A recommendation should trace back to your own numbers and history. "This is what we do for everyone" is an answer worth gently probing.
14.How closely will you monitor me during stimulation, and how do you adjust if I respond differently than expected?
Why it matters: Monitoring frequency and the willingness to change course mid-cycle are where quality of care actually lives — more than anything printed in the brochure.
15.If this cycle doesn't work, how will you decide what to change next time?
Why it matters: Clinics with a structured review process treat an unsuccessful cycle as information to act on, not just bad luck to repeat. Ask what that review looks like.
16.At what point would you tell me that continuing is no longer in my best interest?
Why it matters: The hardest question on this list, and the most revealing. A clinic that can answer it has thought about your interests beyond your next invoice.
The support around the medicine
17.What counselling is included, and how easily can I actually access it?
Why it matters: UK clinics are required to offer counselling before treatment. Whether it's included in the price, and whether appointments are genuinely available, varies widely.
18.Between appointments, who answers the small, scary questions?
Why it matters: Most of fertility treatment happens at home, between visits. A named nurse line, a portal, a 48-hour email backlog — these are very different experiences of the same treatment.
19.Can my partner or a support person join appointments — including remotely?
Why it matters: You're allowed to not do this alone. Clinics differ on who can be in the room, and on whether joining by video is an option for the people who matter to you.
20.What do your patients say was hardest about being treated here?
Why it matters: Every clinic has friction — parking, phone lines, waiting for results. The ones who can name theirs are being straight with you, and that candour tends to hold when things get difficult.
Written by the fertilityPATH team and grounded in publicly documented HFEA and NICE guidance. No clinic paid to shape it, and no clinic sees your answers.
Take the pack with you
Everything above, in your inbox — printable, forwardable to whoever is coming with you, and there when the appointment gets booked. We'll ask you to confirm your address first.
This article provides general information about fertility — not medical advice. Always consult your fertility specialist or another qualified clinician for decisions about your care. In an emergency, call your local emergency services.
Related next steps
Work out which of these questions matter most for your situation — or see how specific clinics answer some of them already.
