Questions to ask at your first fertility clinic appointment

How to leave with a clearer understanding of your fertility, your options and what happens next

A first fertility appointment can feel surprisingly quick.

You may have spent months thinking about whether to book it, only to find yourself discussing AMH, follicles, egg numbers, medication and success rates within the space of an hour.

It is a lot to absorb, particularly when the information carries emotional weight. A result about your ovarian reserve can very quickly become a thought about whether you will have children. A conversation about egg freezing can suddenly make the future feel much closer.

You don't need to arrive knowing everything. But knowing what you want to understand before you leave can make the appointment considerably more useful.

YOUR FIRST FERTILITY CLINIC APPOINTMENT: START WITH YOUR RESULTS

If you have had an AMH test or an ultrasound to assess your antral follicle count (AFC), ask the clinician to interpret the results in the context of your age and medical history.

A useful question is:

“What do these results tell you about my fertility, and what can't they tell you?”

AMH and AFC are useful measures of ovarian reserve and can help predict how the ovaries might respond to stimulation during IVF or egg freezing. They cannot reliably predict whether you will conceive naturally or tell you the quality of your eggs.

If you're considering egg freezing, ask what response the clinician might realistically expect from one stimulation cycle:

“Based on my age, AMH and AFC, approximately how many mature eggs might you expect to retrieve?”

It will always be an estimate. Knowing the likely range can still help you think about treatment more realistically.

MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS

Fertility consultations contain a lot of percentages.

If you hear a “success rate”, ask exactly what it measures.

Pregnancy or live birth? Per embryo transfer or per treatment cycle? What age group does the figure apply to?

This matters particularly with egg freezing. The number of eggs collected is only one part of the picture. Age at freezing has an important relationship with the future reproductive potential of those eggs, and the HFEA cautions that egg freezing cannot guarantee a future baby.

Ask the clinician to talk about your circumstances, rather than relying only on a clinic-wide percentage.

UNDERSTAND THE TREATMENT YOU ARE AGREEING TO

If treatment is recommended, you should understand what it will actually involve.

Ask who will monitor you, how frequently you are likely to need scans, how medication decisions are made and who is likely to perform the procedure.

For an egg collection, I would specifically ask:

“What should I expect afterwards, what symptoms would concern you, and who do I contact if I become unwell?”

Egg collection is generally safe, but it is an invasive procedure with recognised risks including bleeding, infection and injury to surrounding structures. Ovarian stimulation also carries risks, including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

You don't need to leave frightened by a list of rare complications. You should leave knowing what normal recovery looks like and when the clinic would want to hear from you.

It is also worth knowing who holds clinical responsibility for you after a procedure, particularly outside normal clinic hours.

ASK ABOUT WHAT IS OPTIONAL

Fertility treatment can accumulate extras surprisingly quickly.

If a treatment add-on, test or additional procedure is suggested, ask:

“What evidence is there that this improves my chance of having a baby?”

The HFEA evaluates fertility treatment add-ons because many are offered before there is good-quality evidence that they improve live birth rates for most patients.

You can also ask whether the clinician would recommend it specifically in your circumstances, and what the additional cost will be.

ASK WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU WAIT

This can be one of the most useful questions in the room:

“What is likely to change if I don't do this now?”

For someone considering fertility preservation, the answer will depend on age, ovarian reserve, medical history and the length of the delay.

It gives you something more meaningful than a vague sense that fertility is declining and therefore everything must happen immediately.

Sometimes there is genuine urgency.

Sometimes there is time to think.

You deserve to know which situation you are in.

NOTICE HOW THE CONSULTATION FEELS

There is information in the way a clinic communicates with you too.

Can you ask questions comfortably? Are uncertainties acknowledged? Do you understand why something is being recommended? When you hesitate, is there room to think?

Fertility medicine contains unavoidable uncertainty. A clinician cannot promise how many eggs will be collected, whether an embryo will develop or whether treatment will eventually lead to a baby.

Trust does not require certainty.

It requires being able to distinguish clearly between what is known, what is estimated and what remains unknown.

You are also allowed to leave your first appointment without booking treatment.

You can read your notes again. Discuss it with someone. Ask another question. Get a second opinion. Think about what the information means for your life.

The consultation is there to help you make a decision. You do not have to make the decision simply because you are sitting in the consultation.

QUESTIONS TO SAVE BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT

Take whichever of these are relevant to you:

• What do my results tell you about my fertility and what can't these tests tell me?

• How do my age, AMH and AFC fit together?

• What treatment are you recommending, and why?

• What would you realistically expect from one cycle for someone with my results?

• What exactly do the success rates you're quoting measure?

• What are the main risks?

• What symptoms after treatment should make me contact the clinic or seek urgent help?

• Who will perform my procedure?

• Who has clinical responsibility for me afterwards?

• Who can I contact outside normal clinic hours?

• Are any treatment add-ons being recommended, and what evidence supports them?

• What will the full treatment cost, including medication and possible additional fees?

• What is likely to change if I wait six months or a year?

• Is there anything important you think I haven't asked?

You don't need to ask all of them.

Choose the questions that will help you leave knowing what your results mean, what your options are, and what happens next.

That is enough for a first appointment.

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Choosing a fertility clinic; Egg freezing; Treatment add-ons; Risks of fertility treatment.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Fertility problems: assessment and treatment (CG156).

General Medical Council. Decision making and consent. Guidance on material risks, reasonable alternatives and shared decision-making.

Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. “Testing and interpreting measures of ovarian reserve: a committee opinion.” Fertility and Sterility, 2020.

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). Routine psychosocial care in infertility and medically assisted reproduction.

Evidence checked: August 2026.

Venus of Now provides general education and reflection. This article is not personalised medical advice and does not replace consultation with an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.