Few fertility programs in the United States can match the institutional depth of the Brigham and Women's Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery (CIRS) in Boston, Massachusetts. Situated within Brigham and Women's Hospital — a founding teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School — the center has operated at the intersection of clinical care and reproductive science for decades. The program holds a well-established position in Boston's competitive fertility landscape alongside Mass General Hospital and academic programs at Boston IVF, drawing patients not only from greater Boston but from across New England and internationally. The CIRS team reports one of the highest concentrations of American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG)-certified reproductive endocrinologists at any single program nationally, and all faculty hold appointments at Harvard Medical School. For patients navigating fertility clinics in Massachusetts, BWH represents a flagship academic option with particular strengths in complex cases, reproductive surgery, and fertility preservation for cancer patients.
Physicians and Clinical Team
The CIRS faculty roster is led by specialists with both national reputations and deep Harvard Medical School tenure. Collectively, the team brings subspecialty expertise across IVF, minimally invasive surgery, oncofertility, robotic procedures, and LGBTQ+ family building.
Mark D. Hornstein, MD — Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at BWH, Dr. Hornstein is also Co-Director of the Boston Center for Endometriosis. Board certified in REI, he has led numerous clinical trials examining endometriosis treatment and its relationship to infertility, and is among the country's most cited researchers in endometriosis-related fertility outcomes.
Elizabeth S. Ginsburg, MD — Professor at Harvard Medical School and Medical Director of the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) program and Fellowship Director of the REI training program, Dr. Ginsburg earned her board certifications in Obstetrics and Gynecology (1992) and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (1994), completing her REI fellowship at Brigham and Women's in 1991. She is recognized as a pioneer in oncofertility, having published the first reports on fertility preservation for cancer patients and establishing BWH's organized egg and embryo freezing program for women facing cancer treatment.
Serene S. Srouji, MD — Medical Director of the CIRS and the MGB IVF program, Dr. Srouji received her MD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, completed residency at the University of Washington, and fellowship in REI at Brigham and Women's. She holds double board certification in Obstetrics and Gynecology (2006) and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (2008). As Associate Director for Robotic Surgery in REI, she brings expertise in minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery alongside advanced ART. Dr. Srouji is also a recognized specialist in LGBTQ+ family building.
Elena H. Yanushpolsky, MD — A Harvard Medical School graduate who completed her REI fellowship at BWH, Dr. Yanushpolsky is board certified in both OB/GYN (1992) and Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility (1995). She serves as Director of Reproductive Surgery and Director of the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery at South Shore Hospital, one of the BWH network's satellite sites. Her clinical focus includes surgical treatment of endometriosis and other structural contributors to infertility.
Rachel K. Ashby, MD — Listed as the practice director in SART reporting, Dr. Ashby contributes to the program's clinical operations and patient care. Additional faculty include Janis H. Fox, MD, Kimberly W. Keefe Smith, MD (Assistant Director, REI Fellowship), Zachary W. Walker, MD, Brian W. Walsh, MD, and Robert L. Barbieri, MD. The center also maintains an active fellowship program training the next generation of reproductive endocrinologists, with fellows including Jeremy Applebaum, MD, Lindsay Hartup, MD, and others rotating through the program.
The laboratory is directed by Charles L. Bormann, PhD, who oversees the ART laboratory operations, embryo culture systems, cryopreservation programs, and quality assurance. The clinical staff also includes certified physician assistants to support patient throughput and care coordination.
Services and Treatments
The CIRS offers a comprehensive range of assisted reproductive technologies and reproductive surgical procedures:
- In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) — including standard IVF and frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles
- Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) — for male factor infertility and low sperm parameters
- Assisted Hatching — for patients with prior implantation failure or advanced maternal age
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT-A and PGT-M) — chromosomal screening and monogenic disease testing of embryos
- IVF with Donor Eggs — coordinated donor egg cycles for patients with diminished ovarian reserve or premature ovarian insufficiency
- Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) — with ovarian stimulation monitoring
- Fertility Preservation — egg and embryo cryopreservation for elective and medically indicated purposes, including oncofertility programs
- Minimally Invasive Reproductive Surgery — laparoscopic and hysteroscopic procedures
- Robot-Assisted Gynecological Surgery — for complex surgical cases including fibroids and severe endometriosis
- Myomectomy — minimally invasive fibroid removal to preserve fertility
- Endometriosis Treatment — both medical management and surgical excision
- Tubal Ligation Reversal — microsurgical reconnection of the fallopian tubes
- Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Evaluation and Management
- Male Infertility Evaluation and Co-Management — in collaboration with urology partners within the MGB network
- LGBTQ+ Family Building — including reciprocal IVF, donor sperm, and gestational carrier services
Laboratory and Success Rates
The BWH ART laboratory operates as a nationally certified, full-service embryology facility under the direction of Charles L. Bormann, PhD. The lab supports the full spectrum of ART procedures including extended embryo culture to blastocyst stage (Day 5/6), vitrification-based cryopreservation, ICSI, assisted hatching, and embryo biopsy for PGT. Being embedded in a major academic medical center also means the lab has proximity to basic science research infrastructure — a feature that distinguishes it from many stand-alone fertility clinic labs.
Brigham and Women's Hospital ART Center is a SART member and reports outcomes annually to both the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and the CDC. Prospective patients can review the clinic's most recent multi-year outcomes on the SART clinic summary report and on the CDC ART Data website. As with all SART-reporting clinics, success rates are broken down by age group and transfer type (fresh vs. frozen), allowing meaningful comparisons. The center publicly acknowledges that outcomes depend on individual patient factors — age, diagnosis, ovarian reserve, and embryo quality — and emphasizes evidence-based protocols aimed at reducing the incidence of high-order multiple pregnancies, consistent with SART guidelines.
Patient Experience
Choosing Brigham and Women's for fertility care means accepting both the benefits and trade-offs of a large academic medical center. On the positive side, patients gain access to one of the most credentialed REI teams in the country, a robust research environment that influences clinical protocols, and the full diagnostic and surgical capabilities of a tertiary hospital. Patients with complex reproductive histories — prior cancer treatment, severe endometriosis, uterine anomalies, recurrent pregnancy loss, or male factor requiring urological collaboration — often find the academic setting particularly well suited to their needs.
The trade-offs are common to academic programs nationwide. New patient appointment wait times can extend several weeks to months depending on demand and provider availability, though the CIRS does offer early morning and evening scheduling at several of its locations to accommodate working patients. The main campus is located at 75 Francis Street in Boston's Longwood Medical Area, with additional care sites in Newton, Foxborough, Braintree, and South Weymouth — a geographic footprint that helps patients in the broader eastern Massachusetts region avoid commuting to the main hospital for every monitoring appointment.
The program's patient satisfaction scores and physician reputation are consistently strong. Dr. Hornstein and Dr. Ginsburg in particular carry national recognition, and the program's OB/GYN department as a whole has ranked first in the nation in U.S. News & World Report for multiple consecutive years. Patients with complex insurance or financial situations tend to appreciate the BWH patient services infrastructure, which includes dedicated financial counseling staff. For patients seeking a more boutique, high-touch experience, smaller private practices may feel more personalized, but those prioritizing clinical depth and subspecialty expertise in one coordinated system will find BWH well-suited to those goals.
Considering At-Home Insemination?
Not every fertility journey begins in a clinic. At-home intracervical insemination (ICI) is a lower-cost, private option that suits patients with no known fertility diagnosis — including single parents by choice, same-sex couples, and people who want to try a few cycles before committing to clinical treatment.
At-home insemination kits like those from MakeAMom come with step-by-step instructions designed for donor or partner sperm. Kits are a one-time purchase that can be reused until conception succeeds, require no clinic visit, and arrive in plain, discreet packaging. Many patients use them as a first step while working toward a fertility consultation — or alongside ovulation tracking while they wait for an appointment slot.
If you have a known fertility diagnosis, have been trying for 12 months without success (six months if you're over 35), or your physician has already recommended IUI or IVF, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist is the right next step.
Insurance and Financing
Massachusetts has one of the strongest fertility insurance mandates in the country. Since 1987, state law has required fully insured health plans providing pregnancy-related benefits to cover diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including IVF. This mandate applies to individual and group policies regulated by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance. In practice, many commercially insured patients in Massachusetts — particularly those employed by companies with Massachusetts-regulated policies — enter IVF cycles with meaningful insurance coverage, significantly reducing out-of-pocket costs compared to patients in states without a mandate.
Important caveats apply. Self-funded employer health plans (governed by federal ERISA law) are not subject to the Massachusetts mandate, so coverage varies significantly by employer. Federal employees, certain large corporations, and those with Medicaid or uninsured status may have limited or no fertility coverage. In 2024, Massachusetts also enacted a new fertility preservation law (Chapter 140 of the Acts of 2024), effective July 1, 2024, which requires coverage for fertility preservation services for patients whose medical diagnoses or treatments — such as cancer — may impair their fertility.
Brigham and Women's financial counselors can assist patients in verifying their specific insurance benefits, obtaining prior authorizations, and understanding the billing processes across different payers. Patients whose plans do not cover ART cycles can inquire about financing options through third-party medical lending programs that work with the BWH system. The CIRS also participates in various pharmaceutical manufacturer compassionate use and co-pay assistance programs that can offset the cost of injectable fertility medications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Brigham and Women's accept my insurance for fertility treatment? BWH accepts most major insurance carriers and participates in the MGB network. Because Massachusetts requires fully insured plans to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment including IVF, many patients have at least partial coverage. However, self-funded employer plans are exempt from the state mandate. The recommended first step is to call your insurer's member services line to ask specifically about your IVF and ART benefits, then confirm with the BWH financial counseling team before scheduling.
How long is the wait to become a new patient at the CIRS? Wait times vary by provider and time of year. Academic programs at major hospitals tend to have longer new patient wait times than private fertility clinics. Many patients report waiting four to eight weeks for an initial consultation, though urgent clinical situations — such as a new cancer diagnosis requiring fertility preservation — are typically expedited. Calling the center's main scheduling line directly and asking about the earliest available appointment across all providers in the group is the best strategy for faster access.
What makes the Brigham's program different from private fertility clinics in Boston? The primary distinctions are academic affiliation, research integration, surgical complexity, and subspecialty breadth. All physicians hold Harvard Medical School faculty appointments, the lab operates within an active research environment, and the hospital's surgical capabilities support complex cases that stand-alone clinics may refer out. For straightforward IVF, many Boston-area private practices offer comparable success rates with shorter wait times and a more personalized feel. For complex reproductive surgery, oncofertility, or cases requiring multidisciplinary care, the academic environment at BWH is a material advantage.
Is the IVF process explained in an educational way at BWH? Yes. The CIRS provides extensive patient education resources, including detailed FAQs on their website covering the IVF process step by step — from ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval through fertilization, embryo culture, and transfer. The team's emphasis on informed consent and patient education is consistent with academic medical center norms. Patients are encouraged to ask detailed questions at the consultation and to use the Patient Gateway portal for ongoing communication with their care team. Our IVF guide also provides an independent overview of what to expect throughout a cycle.