The road to parenthood

The costs for the initial consultation are usually covered by both statutory health-insurance companies and private insurance companies in Germany without having to apply beforehand.

We will need both partners’ German electronic health-insurance cards. In addition, we ask that you bring your vaccination card and medical documents relating to your individual medical history. This information is very helpful for us, especially if you have previously undergone treatment as part of fertility therapy.

Financial support from the Bavarian state government may be available, depending on the type of treatment, your age, and where you live. We will be happy to advise you on this during the personal consultation.

For details about the exact schedule, please get in contact with the clinic on the day before the procedure is due to be carried out. The contact details are: Doctors Bernard and Weber, Michael-Vogel-Str. 1d, Tel. +49 9131 82 64 – 0. Please don’t forget your German health-insurance card and the surgical consent form that you received as part of the information consultation at the gynaecology clinic joint practice. This is vitally important, since the procedure cannot be carried out without this signed consent form.

Please wear loose clothing when you come to your surgery appointment. Please do not wear any make-up and take off any nail varnish at home. Please remove jewellery and piercings. Please be sure to trim or completely shave your pubic hair both in the vaginal area and the lower abdomen.

Please come on an empty stomach

When you arrive for your appointment, it should be on an empty stomach. This means that you should not eat anything from around 10pm the previous day (this includes sweets and chewing gum), do not drink anything after midnight, and don’t smoke either!

Arrange for somebody to pick you up afterwards

Please arrange for somebody to pick you up from the clinic afterwards. Please ensure that an adult is available to watch over you for the following 24 hours. If such care cannot be organised or guaranteed, then the operation will have to be carried out as an inpatient. Think about where you can best rest and sleep at home (with the toilet easily accessible). When you are at home, it is best to lie down comfortably with just a light covering. Usually, you can eat light food again four hours after the procedure.

Allow time for the aenesthesia to wear off

After anaesthesia you may not drive a vehicle or use any other form of transportation on your own for a period of 24 hours. You are also not allowed to operate machines with the potential for injury, or to drink alcohol.

Treat yourself to some peace and quiet

Even if you may feel fit again quite quickly, having an operation is always a strain on the body, so don’t overdo it. Treat your body and soul to a well-earned rest.

What should I do if there is a problem?

If you are in pain, take the medication that has been prescribed or recommended by the anaesthesiologist or surgeon. If you notice abnormalities such as severe dizziness, bleeding, or other unusual symptoms, then contact the doctors at the outpatient surgery centre or the surgeon treating you. It may be necessary to contact medical emergency services as well. Outside of office hours, you can obtain the telephone number of a doctor in the gynaecological joint practice via the recorded message on the following numbers: +49 9131 89 52 0 or +49 9131 89 53 0.

The most important thing is to lead a balanced lifestyle. The latest findings show that vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids can help to increase the chances of pregnancy. However, we will be happy to talk to you individually about this in a personal consultation.

The first day of the cycle is the day on which menstrual bleeding is fully present at the “normal” level for you. If this starts after 6pm, the following day counts as the first day of your cycle.

In our information brochure we have summarised many questions that come to mind about artificial insemination treatment. You can download it in the download section.

The answers to the most frequently asked questions can be found in our information brochure.

You are welcome to watch the user videos on our video portal.

1. Make an appointment with our reception (+49 9131-89520) for a consultation with one of our doctors and inform the staff that PGT has been recommended as a suitable option for you.
2. Please bring all genetic test results with you (from both partners, children, and previous pregnancies, if available) to the agreed appointment at our clinic. It would be even more helpful if you could send us a scanned copy of this information in advance by e-mail
3. During the initial consultation with the doctor, we will inform you about how things will proceed (both from a medical and organisational perspective), what the expected costs are and, of course, about the chances of success indicated by special diagnosis in your individual case. You will receive a folder from us with all the important information and documents you need.
4. If necessary, we will discuss your test results with medical geneticists. That will enable clarification of the following points:

• Whether PGT is technically feasible in your case
• Whether the Bavarian Ethics Committee has already approved comparable cases
• Approximately how much time geneticists will need to develop and check the test system for your individual situation

5. Once all of these questions have been clarified, you will be required to visit our medical genetics colleagues in Munich. During the consultation there, you will receive the following:

• Counselling about medical genetics
• Detailed information about the possibilities and limitations of genetic diagnostics
• Information about the expected costs of genetic diagnostics
• Psychosocial counselling (this is legally required before PGT treatment)
• You will also be helped to prepare an application and fill out all the necessary forms for the Bavarian Ethics Committee approval process.

6. The complete application package with all forms can then be submitted for review to the Bavarian Ethics Committee for Preimplantation Genetic Testing. If your application is approved, you will receive written notification. Then you can contact our clinic and your treatment can begin!

• An examination by and consultation with a specialist in medical genetics. The doctor will check whether this sort of diagnostic treatment is technically possible and/or medically necessary in your particular case. The result of this examination along with the application will be assessed by the relevant ethics committee.
• A PGT application approved by the relevant Bavarian ethics committee. Approvals from other ethics committees will not be accepted. The PGT application form and all other application documents can be obtained from the Centre for Medical Genetics and Laboratory Diagnostics in Munich-Martinsried or as a download from the State Ministry of Health and Nursing.
• Treatment must be carried out at an approved PGT centre. In Bavaria, the State Ministry for Health and Nursing is the relevant approval licensing authority. Our clinic has been approved since 2015 and is currently the only authorised PGT centre in Northern Bavaria.

Embryos that show abnormalities in the genetic test are discarded, healthy embryos are frozen and can be thawed out at a later date and implanted into the mother.

We treat you as a couple, so a thorough diagnosis for both the woman and the man is important to us. In order to be able to give you personalised advice, it is advantageous if you take part in the initial consultation together.

Couples under the age of 30 who sleep together without using contraception have a monthly pregnancy rate of about 20% per reproductive cycle, so pregnancy would usually occur after 5 months or so on average. However, the likelihood of a “spontaneous pregnancy” decreases after 12 months. It is therefore advisable to consult a fertility expert after around 12 months of trying for a child. For couples over 30, this step may be recommended at a somewhat earlier stage.