How to choose a fertility clinic

Though your biological clock's alarm may be screeching in your ears, it's worth hitting the snooze button once more so you'll have the time to find a good fertility clinic or assisted conception unit.

It's important to choose the right one because you'll live with the results your entire life. And if the results are technologically induced quintuplets, your biological clock's alarm will seem like a mere whisper compared with the noise five hungry babies can make. Besides, free NHS treatment might not cover all your options, so you could be paying for much of this out of your own pocket.

Let's say you've been getting advice from your GP or gynaecologist, who's run a blood test for hormones or had you record your temperature for a couple of months. At the same time, your husband has had himself checked out by his GP or a urologist. When it comes time to diagnose where the problem may be and suggest solutions, you may wish there was a single specialist doctor you both could see. That's where the infertility specialist comes in, someone who is concerned with the whole fertility spectrum . Women over 35 or who have a history of three or more miscarriages; men with a poor semen analysis; and couples who have tried for at least two years to get pregnant, may want to investigate whether a fertility clinic could work for them.

There's a downside to a fertility clinic: once you get on the technological merry-go-round for modern baby making, it can be hard to get off. Before you set foot into the fertility clinic, get a book or search the Internet. Find out what kind of invasive tests or procedures might lie in wait for you. And give some thought ahead of time to how far you're willing to go with this process. Advanced reproductive technology (such as IVF treatment) can be expensive, can involve strong drugs or hormones and can be an emotional roller coaster. Knowing your limits will keep you from being talked into some fancy new procedure that you really don't want and can't afford.

When it comes to choosing a clinic, do thorough research ahead of time. Also, ask a lot of questions of every fertility clinic you're considering.

We've all heard the scary stories about embryos ending up in the wrong womb or legal disputes over someone's frozen eggs. To be sure you don't become the next reproductive-technology headline, check that the clinic has a good track record.

Here are some questions worth asking the clinic:

• How long has the medical director been there? How long have the doctors and technicians been there? High staff turnover can be a sign of bad management and can contribute to mistakes.
• Which procedures do you do, and how often? Be sure the clinic has a wide range of infertility remedies available and is familiar with the latest technology.
• Do you have age limits for treatment? If so, it's a sign that the clinic is concerned about ethical issues.
• When you do an advanced procedure that involves fertilising the eggs outside the woman and then planting them inside her, who decides how many eggs go back in - the doctor or patient? This is important because the more eggs planted, the greater the chance for multiple births.
• How many cycles per year do you do? Some clinics handle so many patients - each of whom may be treated for multiple menstrual cycles - that patients end up feeling like a number.
• What does treatment cost? While you don't want to choose strictly on price, it's good to know costs ahead of time so you know what you're getting into. Beware of clinics that offer a money-back guarantee if you don't get pregnant - the doctor may have a financial incentive to treat you more aggressively than you want.