For any treatment to have the best chance of success, doctors must know as much as possible about the health and reproductive history of their patients. By collecting medical documentation early on in the process, you can save time, money and energy.

At first, it can be very irritating to continually provide the same information to every doctor that you see. Some of the questions posed by doctors are highly personal and could make you feel uncomfortable. These could be questions about your lifestyle when you were younger that might cause embarrassment. However, it is important to be aware that doctors are not asking these questions in order to judge you, but to uncover things that might shed light upon the cause of your reduced fertility.

Doctors are interested in your history of the following things:

• Menstruation (when it started, duration and frequency of cycle, heavy bleeding or cramps)
• Sexual habits (frequency, problems with intercourse)
• Sexual history
• Use of contraceptives
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) like chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital warts, syphilis
• Abdominal surgery or therapies? (removal of the appendix, intestinal repair, removal of ovarian cysts, dilation and curettage (D&C), treatment for abnormal cervix)
• Infections, pains in the abdomen, heavy feeling in the stomach
• Abnormal cervical smears
• Previous pregnancies and/or abortions
• Fibroids/myomas (type, size and location)

• Chronic medical conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis, thyroid diseases and ulcerations)
• Cancer therapy
• Chronic bladder or urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Use of psychiatric medications
• Medicinal allergies

• Lifestyle and nutrition (diet, exercise, smoking, use of alcohol and drugs)
• Weight (normal weight, recent weight loss or gain)
• Exposure to poisons in the environment (lead, radioactivity, pesticides or PCBs)

Family history of:

• Problems relating to fertility
• Repeated miscarriages or difficult pregnancies
• Exposure of the mother to diethylstilbestrol (DES)
• Age of the woman’s mother/sister at menopause
• Hereditary and/or chromosomal disorders (sickle-cell anaemia, Tay-Sachs disease, muscular dystrophy and haemophilia, Down Syndrome, retarded development)

If you have already undergone previous fertility tests, then the doctor responsible for these will generally be prepared to provide the most relevant information arising from these examinations in writing. In a letter of transfer, the doctor will provide a summary along with the conclusion resulting from his or her findings. Copies of the results may be attached.

The following information is useful:

• Semen analysis (sperm count, motility, morphology)
• Hormonal tests (FSH, LH, TSH, oestradiol, progesterone, testosterone, prolactin)
• Ultrasound of abdomen (a report of the results)
• Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) (the report as well as the x-rays which were taken during the procedure)
• Post-coital test (PCT)
• Basal body temperature (BBT), observations and/or cervical mucous cultures
• Endometrial biopsy
• Laparoscopy (a report and photos, if taken)
• Hysteroscopy (a report and photos, if taken)

If you have already undergone fertility treatments, then it is very important that a new doctor gets as much information about these as possible. The easiest way is to ask your previous doctor to summarise his/her findings in a letter of transfer. Copies of the results or treatment schedules can be attached.

• Information regarding the cycle with ovulation stimulating medication (name of drug(s) dosage, number of days taken, eventual hormonal levels, number of follicles).
  
• Intrauterine Inseminations (IUIs) (the same information as above, along with the day of the cycle on which IUI took place, the quality of the original and the processed sperm, including the percentage and quality of the sperm cells).
  
• In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) or ICSI-cycle (the same information as above, as well as the number of eggs obtained, the day of the cycle on which the puncture was carried out, the number of frozen embryos, the type of anaesthetic for the puncture, number and quality of embryos replaced, duration between cycles (rest period).