OUR CARE PHILOSOPHY
A more balanced approach to fertility care
Fertility care is a science, but it’s also a deeply personal experience for those planning to grow their family. We see a better way.
Our whole-person approach to care prioritizes physical and mental wellbeing, as well as communication and honesty. We offer the latest fertility advancements, digital integrations and medical expertise, paired with additional support and supplementary services to help our patients feel informed, ready and resilient at every step.
At Twig, we’re more than practitioners of medicine — we are trusted partners to guide your journey and grow your nest.
Our Services
We offer a wide variety of services to help people grow their nest, no matter where you are in their fertility journey.
Below is a list of our most common fertility services. If you do not see a service listed below, please reach out to our care team to find out more.
Fertility Treatments
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
One of the most well-established and effective treatments for family building and navigating fertility challenges, IVF includes the process of growing and retrieving eggs from the ovaries, combining them with sperm to create embryos in the embryology lab, and transferring them into the uterus to help achieve a pregnancy.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection can be an effective treatment option where there are concerns about sperm quantity or quality. It is a procedure where a sperm is selected and placed directly into an egg to help achieve fertilization.
Preimplantation genetic testing is a screening test that can help us select the best embryos to transfer during an IVF cycle. We test a few cells from the outer layer of an embryo for genetic abnormalities, which can predict whether that embryo will lead to a pregnancy.
Cycle Monitoring
Cycle monitoring is a process where we track how your eggs are developing in your ovaries through a series of blood tests and internal ultrasounds. Cycle monitoring can be used to track your natural cycle – however, it is most often used together with fertility medications, which stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple eggs. This process usually takes place over two weeks.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
Intrauterine insemination is the process of placing sperm directly into the uterus to help achieve a pregnancy. With IUI, fertilization and embryo development occur naturally inside the body.
Frozen Embryo Transfer
A frozen embryo transfer is the process of thawing and transferring a previously frozen embryo into your uterus. In the weeks prior to the frozen embryo transfer, we will prepare your uterus to receive the embryo.
Donor Assistance
Donor Eggs & Donor Sperm
Using a donor is an option for people who are unable to become pregnant using their own eggs or sperm.
You may choose to use an anonymous donor from a verified donor bank, or to use a known donor, such as a friend or family member, who volunteers to donate their eggs or sperm to you.
While you are finding the right donor, Twig will be with you at every step to answer your questions and support your decision-making. Our in-house reproductive counsellor will guide you through the process, help you understand what to expect, and ensure you are confident and ready to proceed.
Gestational Surrogacy
There are many reasons why an individual or couple may not be able to carry a pregnancy themselves and may require a gestational carrier to build their family.
Gestational surrogacy is when the person carrying a pregnancy is not the intended parent, nor are they genetically related to the future child. The eggs and sperm come from the intended parent(s) or donor(s).
For our patients pursuing gestational surrogacy, Twig is alongside you throughout your journey. Our in-house reproductive counsellor is your guide, here to answer your questions and make sure you feel prepared and confident at every step.
Beginning your journey
So you’ve decided to embark on the path towards family building. But what comes next? At Twig, we’re here alongside you throughout your journey, making sure you feel confident and certain about your next step forward.
The following represents a typical journey of a patient going through IVF but may not be representative of what would best suit your situation.
STEP
1
You’ll begin with an initial consult with one of our fertility specialists to thoroughly understand your priorities and goals. We’ll also discuss your background and review your medical history to better understand your unique situation.
STEP
2
After your initial consult, you will come into the clinic to have a fertility assessment, which includes a series of important diagnostic tests for each individual.
STEP
3
Once we’ve received the results of your assessment, you’ll have a consult and treatment planning session with your physician to review all of your results and discuss options for the best path forward for you.
STEP
4
Your physician and care team will create a personalized care plan based on your treatment planning session. You’ll have an education appointment with one of our nurses to review your care plan and prepare you for what will happen during your cycle.
STEP
5
Over a period of approximately 8 to 12 days, you will take injectable hormonal medications to stimulate your ovaries to produce a higher number of eggs. During this time, we will closely monitor your progress with blood work and internal ultrasounds. Once ready, you will take a trigger shot to help your eggs mature before they are retrieved.
STEP
6
Your eggs will be carefully retrieved by one of our physicians. We use an ultrasound to see the follicles and gently guide a needle through the top of the vagina into the ovaries. We use sedation to keep you comfortable during this process.
Once your eggs have been retrieved, they will be handed off to one of our embryologists in our in-house embryology lab, which is directly connected to our procedure room. There they will be counted and prepared for fertilization.
STEP
7
A few hours after your egg retrieval, an embryologist will fertilize your eggs with sperm to create your embryos. Over the next 5 to 7 days, your embryos will be kept safe in our time-lapse incubator and monitored closely to track their development. You will receive regular updates from our embryology team about the progress of your embryos.
STEP
8
If you are having a fresh embryo transfer, it will take place five days after your eggs are retrieved.
The embryo transfer is performed by one of our physicians. We use an ultrasound placed on your lower abdomen to guide us as we place the embryo in the uterus using a small catheter (tube) through the cervix.
STEP
9
Any additional fully developed embryos that are not transferred into the uterus will be frozen in our embryology lab, so you may use them in the future.
STEP
10
Nine days after your embryo transfer, you will come to our clinic where we will draw blood for a pregnancy test.
Making your family building possible
Everyone deserves to grow their family, and we want to make that possible for you too. We offer simple and transparent pricing that helps people make their family-building goals a reality.
Some services and drug costs are covered by OHIP or private insurance. Our care team will work closely with you to ensure you receive maximum coverage for supported services.