Consistently above the national birth rate average in all measured categories*

Your First Visit: What to Expect

The Leading St. Louis Fertility Clinic

  1. Consult: You’ll meet with the doctor to review and discuss your medical history.
  2. Exam: Women will have an ultrasound and men will have a sperm analysis (avoid ejaculation for 48 hours prior to appointment).
  3. Lab: Blood tests will be performed if required.
  4. Results: You’ll receive a complete diagnosis and plan after blood and analysis results are returned (approximately 3 to 5 days). A preliminary diagnosis may be offered at the visit based on consult and exam.

If you have medical records (including lab tests and surgical reports) please bring them to your first visit or ask your doctor’s office to fax to: 636. 441.7775.

Although you may have been to another fertility clinic, or at least another medical office, you will likely experience a different feeling when you walk into Fertility Partnership. There is a sense of openness and friendliness that permeates every corner of our space. This was our intent and purpose in designing our clinic. We designed our clinic to let you know that we understand the stress and host of other negative emotions that one feels when struggling to have a baby. We want you to know that when you come to our location… you are not alone.  This is part of what makes us one of the region’s leading fertility clinic.

When you arrive at our clinic you will be greeted at our front desk and we will have you fill out questionnaires and paperwork to gather as much information about you and your history. You may ask for these forms prior to our arrival so you come with them already completed. If you have been through testing and fertility treatments at another clinic we would hope that you would bring them with you or have signed a release to have them sent directly to us. You will then be brought into the office of Dr. Elan Simckes, our founder and medical director, an over twenty-year veteran, will get to know you before starting any exam or testing. Prepare for a very friendly, non-intimidating conversation where you can share your own thoughts and concerns. The doctor will usually spend at least a half an hour, but sometimes longer, during your consultation reviewing your case, your history, and your dreams.

Next, you will be escorted to an exam room and Dr. Simckes, accompanied by one of his staff, will join you and perform an ultrasound. Dr. Simckes performs his own ultrasounds and does not refer you to a third-party or sonographer for this study. He believes that part of the reason of our success is that he personally can see your uterus and ovaries so as to make better clinical judgments. Usually, there is blood work that he wants to order in which case it may be drawn right after the exam. But if your insurance requires a specific lab you will be given requisitions to have the blood drawn elsewhere.

If there has not been a semen analysis performed, when appropriate, then we would likely want it done as soon as possible. We would ask that the man abstains from ejaculation for 48 hours prior to this study and we should be able to have that test done on the day of your first visit. Results of this analysis will likely not be available for 24 hours.

On the day of your first visit, Dr. Simckes will already begin to share with you his thoughts about your condition and possible plans of action to move forward. When you leave the blood work will be pending, semen analysis results pending, prior records may not have arrived, then we will ask you to return at a later date to meet with the doctor to follow up and develop a treatment plan that suits your desires, wishes, and reality.