Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
our clinic
Getting Started
If you find yourself facing fertility challenges, know that you are not alone. Taking proactive steps to start fertility assessments can never be too early. Whether you’re actively trying to conceive, planning to start a family soon, or envision having a family in the future, we are here to assist you with any questions you may have.
1 in 6 Canadian couples experience infertility. The new definition from 2023 created by The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) is more inclusive ensuring that anyone desiring to build a family has fair access, regardless of relationship status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Infertility is now described as:
- Difficulty getting pregnant because of medical, sexual or reproductive issues
- Requiring medical assistance, such as using donor eggs or embryos, to have a baby, either on your own or with a partner
- If you’re a couple under 35 years old having regular, unprotected sex, with no reproductive impairment for over 1 year or have been trying to conceive for more than 6 months if you’re older than 35 years of age.
We also recommend fertility assessment for individuals considering fertility preservation such as egg freezing, sperm freezing and embryo freezing.
If you are looking for a supportive team to help you on your journey to expand your family, our caring team at TRIO Fertility Mississauga are here for you every step of the way.
For more information about Infertility, follow the link below:
https://www.asrm.org/news-and-events/asrm-news/press-releasesbulletins/new-definition-infertility/
Dr. Mehta along with her specialist team will be able to guide you to the fertility treatment that is best suitable to you. All patients will undergo fertility assessments and based on the results, will help outline your needs.
Changes in lifestyle such as stopping smoking, reducing intake of saturated fats, lowering stress, and increasing your intake of antioxidants can all improve your chances of conception. Dr. Mehta works hand-in-hand with Conceive Health — naturopaths who specialize in preconception care who can help you optimize your lifestyle.
A referral from a family doctor is encouraged to allow the consultation to be covered by OHIP. This could be done with your family physician or from a walk in clinic.
You can initiate a self referral through our website and can then request for a referral from a general physician so as to ensure OHIP coverage.
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IUI Fertility Treatment
In some cases, a patient can do up to three IUI cycles if the sperm count is normal. Each treatment plan will be changed after reviewing each cycle with your medical team. However, for patients who are keen on achieving a pregnancy sooner, IVF may be an option. You and Dr. Mehta can discuss what is best for you and how soon to move to IVF.
Blood tests, ultrasounds, and the insemination procedure are covered by OHIP, however, sperm wash and medication are not. These may be covered by some private insurance plans. Please visit this link to see the current cost of an IUI cycle.
At Dr Mehta’s TRIO Fertility Mississauga, we are able to treat patients with IUI up to the age of 46.
Oral fertility medications (e.g. letrozole, clomiphene citrate) combined with IUI have a pregnancy rate of 8-10% per cycle, while injectable fertility medications (e.g. Gonal F) used with IUI have a pregnancy rate of 15-18% per cycle. However, these numbers change significantly with various other factors and important to factor in reasons that decrease success include advanced maternal age, moderate or severe abnormalities with the sperm, and prolonged infertility despite treatment. As a result, the general recommendation is that after undergoing three medicated cycles, patients should meet and discuss their next steps with Dr. Mehta. For patients who are keen on achieving a pregnancy sooner, IVF may be an option.
The main risk associated with IUI is the risk of a multiples pregnancy as every patient will respond to medications differently. There is a risk of having multiple eggs fertilized which today is considered a higher risk pregnancy. This is why some people choose IVF, a treatment where this risk is extremely rare.
The general recommendation is that after undergoing three IUI cycles, patients should meet and discuss IVF with Dr. Mehta to increase their chances of pregnancy. Patients who are keen on achieving a pregnancy sooner may want to meet with Dr. Mehta after one or two IUI cycles to discuss the next steps.
You will need to visit the clinic 5-10 times over a two-week period depending on your cycle length and response to treatment.
Due to COVID-19 protocols, CM begins at 7 am and goes to 11 am. You will be given a time to come to the clinic to ensure appropriate physical distancing.
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In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
We will assess through bloodwork and ultrasound. Depending on your result, Dr. Mehta will either prescribe a medication for you that will bring on a period, or you will be assigned a start date depending on your individual diagnosis.
First, you will begin with cycle monitoring and during this time, take several medications to stimulate your follicles to grow. Once majority of the follicles have grown maturely, you will be prepared for your egg retrieval. Eggs are retrieved from the ovaries, and then they are fertilized with the sperm sample provided. The fertilized eggs are then placed into an incubator for 5 to 6 days to grow into a mature embryo called a blastocyst. At this stage, the blastocyst can be transferred to the patient’s uterus, or a gestational carrier, for implantation and potential pregnancy. At this stage you have the option of doing Preimplantation Genetic Screening. The remaining blastocyst embryos, or all of the blastocyst embryos, can also be frozen at this point for future use.
The hope is that you only do the IVF procedure once. Dr Mehta and her team will try to ensure you are successful and try to give you the best outcome. Each cycle you do gives your doctor more information about you. For some patients, it does take more than one attempt, and the cumulative data shows that for most patients, each successive try increases your odds.
Embryos can be safely frozen in our lab for transfer at a future date.
Dr Mehta is able to treat patients with IVF up to the age of 45. Above the age of 45, the chances of conceiving with a patient’s own eggs are very low. So at that point, we recommend considering a donor egg. TRIO Fertility Mississauga has a comprehensive third-party program that helps patients navigate the egg donor process.
With funded IVF, patients pay for medication and any additional lab services recommended by their doctor. If you do not qualify for funding, please visit this link to see the current cost of a fresh IVF cycle. If you have coverage with a private medical insurer, please make sure to check and see if IVF cycles and/or medication is covered under your plan.
Patients under the age of 43 with a valid OHIP card have access to one funded cycle in their lifetime.
You will need to visit the clinic 5-10 times over a two-week period depending on your response to medications
CM “Cycle Monitoring” begins at 7 am and goes to 11 am. You will be given a specific time to come to the clinic to ensure appropriate physical distancing.
TRIO Fertility Mississauga takes pride in working with TRIO Fertility, a renowned clinic with the most experienced team of embryologists. It is the most experienced state-of-the-art IVF lab in Canada, incorporating AI tools to achieve the best reproductive outcomes.
To learn more about TRIO’s IVF & Embryology Lab, follow the link below:
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Egg Freezing
It is a personal decision for someone to choose to freeze their eggs. This includes focusing on their career, finding the right partner or delaying planning pregnancy. People with ovaries are born with a finite number of eggs. As we age from our mid 30s, our egg reserve starts to decline. This is when the percentage of eggs with genetic abnormalities will also increase and thus the earlier you freeze your eggs, the greater are your chances of success of reproductive outcomes.
An egg freezing cycle takes approximately 2 weeks depending on your response to treatment. Once your follicles mature, you will be prepared for an egg retrieval. The eggs are then retrieved by a physician in which you will be consciously sedated. The procedure takes under 30 minutes and you will be in the recovery room after your procedure. It is mandatory for you to have a family member or a friend be with you to take you home and help you with recovery for that day. The eggs will be frozen and stored for future use.
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Choosing TRIO for 2SLGBTQIA+ Family Building
All of our doctors and supportive staff have received specialized training to ensure everyone understands the needs of our 2SLGBTQIA+ patients.
TRIO Fertility Mississauga has a Facebook Support Group specifically for 2SLGBTQIA+ patients led by Fertility Counsellor Dara Roth Edney.
All of our staff have received training around issues relating to treatment and trauma. If you’ve had a traumatic treatment experience in the past, we hope you will feel comfortable talking to your nurse. She will reach out on your behalf to the other staff that you will encounter, including our ultrasound technicians, to ensure that your treatment experience with us is a positive one.
Yes, Dr. Mehta’s intake forms were specifically written with inclusive language and pronouns, with the goal of being sensitive to inclusion and gender diversity ensuring that everyone is treated respectfully.
All of Dr. Mehta’s staff at TRIO Fertility Mississauga have received inclusivity training and understand the importance of gender neutral language and correct pronoun use.
Dr. Mehta and her staff respects everyone’s right to choose the washroom that is appropriate for them. We have all gender washrooms for anyone who identifies as male or female.
At Dr. Chaula Mehta’s TRIO Fertility Mississauga, we are open to your feedback: if you have ideas on how we can create a better experience for you and other 2SLGBTQIA+ patients, please email us info@triofertilitymississauga.com with your thoughts. We would like to hear from you.
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Fertility Counselling
There is contact information in the bios of each of our counsellors. Please contact them directly to book an appointment.
Some private health insurance will cover counselling. Otherwise, you are welcome to contact your counsellor for the fees of their counselling services and pay them directly.
It is mandatory for patients undergoing IVF and Third Party Reproduction to have one session of fertility counselling. For other treatments, it is highly recommended.
We highly recommend that all patients go for counselling.
No. Your session(s) are confidential. For IVF, your doctor will get a notification that you have attended the session, but the contents of the session are confidential.
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Egg, Embryos, and Sperm Freezing Storage at TRIO
Our storage tanks are filled with liquid nitrogen, which has an extremely low temperature. The tanks are not controlled by electricity, so there is no power to fail. The only electrical component on the tanks is the alarm, and these are equipped with backup battery power. Our team checks the tanks every day to ensure that they are at the optimal level to keep the gametes frozen.
At TRIO we have a sophisticated barcoding system, as well as a unique identification number for each patient. Barcode labels with these unique identification numbers are used on all dishes and tubes that come into contact with eggs, embryos and sperm — and everything is verified by scanning before freezing and thawing to ensure accuracy.
Yes! Our storage facilities adhere to the strictest standards: they are precisely temperature-controlled and monitored at all times — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our lab director and embryology team monitor the storage facilities throughout the day, and each storage tank is equipped with a sophisticated alarm designed to alert the team day or night to any shifts in temperature.
Theoretically, they can be stored indefinitely. The freezing process we use at TRIO keeps the cells safe for a long, long time.
As long as your eggs, embryos or sperm are stored at TRIO there will be annual storage fees.