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Fertility care comes with a lot of unfamiliar words and decisions. These guides explain the essentials in plain language — no jargon, no selling, just what you need to understand your options.

Guides

Preparing for your first fertility consultationA first fertility consultation is mostly a detailed conversation about your history, often with an ultrasound, followed by a plan for tests. You will get far more from it if you bring both partners where possible, your past medical records and test results, a rough menstrual history, a list of medications, and your most important questions written down. You do not have to decide anything on the day.
Questions to ask your fertility clinicBefore you commit to a clinic or a treatment, the right questions protect you. Ask about your diagnosis and whether IVF is really needed, how the clinic reports success rates (live births per transfer, for your age group), who performs your procedures, the full itemised cost in writing, the evidence behind any add-ons, and your rights under India's ART Act. A good clinic welcomes every one of these questions.
Red flags: how to spot a fertility clinic to avoidMost fertility clinics are run by committed professionals, but a few warning signs are worth heeding. Be cautious of misleading or vague success rates, pressure to start IVF without a proper work-up, unproven add-ons sold as essential, costs that will not be put in writing, evasive answers, and any "guaranteed baby" promise. None of these alone proves bad care, but together they are a reason to slow down, ask more, and consider a second opinion.
What an IVF cycle looks like, step by stepAn IVF cycle usually runs about four to six weeks of active treatment. You take hormone injections for around 8 to 14 days to grow several eggs, have a timed trigger injection, then a short procedure to collect the eggs. The eggs are fertilised in the lab, the embryos grow for five to six days, and one is placed in the uterus. About two weeks later, a blood test shows whether it worked. This guide walks through each step in plain language, with what to expect, realistic numbers, and what to do if a cycle does not go to plan.
When to see a fertility specialistAs a general guide, see a fertility specialist after about a year of trying if you are under 35, after about six months if you are 35 to 39, and without delay if you are 40 or over. Go sooner at any age if you have irregular or absent periods, a known condition such as PCOS or endometriosis, two or more miscarriages, a history that affects fertility, or a known sperm problem. Seeing a specialist is an assessment of both partners, not an automatic step to IVF.

Conditions

Treatments

Tests

Decision guides

IUI vs IVF vs ICSI: which treatment, and whenIUI is the simplest and cheapest option, placing prepared sperm in the uterus; it suits mild male-factor or unexplained infertility but has a lower success rate per cycle. IVF is more involved and has higher success, and is the better first step when there is a clear reason such as blocked tubes, severe male factor, endometriosis, low ovarian reserve, or older age. ICSI is a version of IVF used mainly for male-factor problems, not a separate or automatically better option. The right choice depends on your diagnosis and age, not on which sounds best.

In plain words

Unsure what a term means? The glossary defines the language of fertility care, one entry at a time.

Open the glossary