COVID-19 pandemic impacts fertility treatments

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine has recommended a pause on fertility treatments due to the coronavirus pandemic. For many in search of expanding their family, it can be a stressful time.

News 12 Staff

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Apr 23, 2020, 9:12 PM

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Updated 1,702 days ago

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine has recommended a pause on fertility treatments due to the coronavirus pandemic. For many in search of expanding their family, it can be a stressful time.

“We had patients who were even saying, 'Well I will sleep on the sidewalk if it means that they can continue with my treatment,'” says Dr. Williams at Columbia University’s Fertility Center.

Dr. Williams says his office is still seeing patients via telemedicine and is monitoring and treating all pregnant patients. "New York state indicated that fertility treatment was an essential service and certainly we were able to put in a lot of measures and safeguards to protect our patients, to protect our staff and to protect our community,” said Dr. Williams.

So, for those patients who are freezing eggs and embryos, all patient transfers have been stopped. "The health care system, in general, is stressed, so by structuring, by phasing in the way we open, to doing egg freezing and embryo freezing but not the transfers, we are able to get the benefit of helping those patients who would need it most and who would benefit the most without introducing the potential risks that might be present in pregnancy at this time,” says Dr. Williams.

He says there isn't an exact answer on when everything can resume again.

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