Tucked inside Fairfield County at 125A Kings Highway North, Yale Fertility Center – Westport extends the reach of one of the country's most recognized academic medical institutions into one of Connecticut's most affluent and densely populated suburbs. The Westport satellite operates under the umbrella of Yale School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, giving patients access to research-active physicians who also see patients at Yale's main fertility campus in Orange and at Yale New Haven Hospital. That academic backbone distinguishes the Westport office from many independent or private-equity-owned practices: the physicians who see you here publish in peer-reviewed journals, direct national fellowship training programs, and sit on advisory boards for organizations including the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART). Patients who value institutional credentialing alongside suburban convenience will find the Westport location a compelling option when exploring Connecticut fertility clinics. For a plain-language explanation of what the IVF process involves before your first consultation, see our guide to IVF treatment.
Physicians and Clinical Team
Yale Fertility Center – Westport is staffed by board-certified reproductive endocrinologists drawn from the Yale School of Medicine faculty. Confirmed providers who see patients at the Westport location include:
Emre Seli, MD — Medical Director of Yale Fertility Center. Dr. Seli earned his MD at the University of Istanbul (1992), completed his OB/GYN residency and his Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (REI) fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine, and holds dual board certification from the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) in Obstetrics & Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility. He currently serves as Professor and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Yale School of Medicine. His research portfolio spans egg and embryo quality, ovarian aging, mitochondrial function in reproductive aging, and personalized medicine approaches to IVF. Among his honors are the ASRM Prize Paper (2019), the UNESCO Beacon Award: Frontiers in Stem Cells and Reproduction (2018), the Society for Reproductive Investigation President's Achievement Award (2016), and the ASRM Star Award for five consecutive years (2015–2019). He has also been listed in Best Doctors in America. Dr. Seli consults at both the Westport and Orange offices.
Lubna Pal, MBBS, MD, MSc, MRCOG, FACOG — Professor and Fellowship Director, REI. Dr. Pal obtained her MBBS from Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan, and completed postgraduate training in the United Kingdom where she earned Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (FRCOG/MRCOG). She pursued dual REI fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and holds a Master of Science in Clinical Research from Yeshiva University. She is also a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG). As Fellowship Director she oversees the training of the next generation of reproductive endocrinologists at Yale. Her clinical and research focus centers on female infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and reproductive aging — areas in which she directs two dedicated Yale programs: the PCOS Program and the Menopause Program. Dr. Pal sees patients at both the Westport and Orange campuses.
Reshef Tal, MD, PhD — Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences. Dr. Tal earned his MD and PhD from Tel Aviv University School of Medicine (2009), completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Toronto (2010), an OB/GYN residency at Maimonides Medical Center (2014), and an REI fellowship at Yale University (2017). He is double board-certified by ABOG in Obstetrics & Gynecology (2018, recertified 2019) and in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (2024). His research investigates endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation — specifically the role of stem cells in uterine lining function during IVF, a line of inquiry supported by an ASRM Research Grant (2020) and an NIH-NICHD K12 Women's Reproductive Health Research Career Development Award (2017).
David B. Seifer, MD — Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences. Dr. Seifer earned his MD from the University of Illinois–Chicago (1981), completed an internship at LA County USC Medical Center, a residency at Stanford University School of Medicine, and an REI fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. He is internationally recognized as a pioneer in anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) research, having developed one of the widely used AMH assays that help assess ovarian reserve. Dr. Seifer served as President of SART from 2017 to 2018 and has been listed in America's Top Doctors by Castle Connolly for twenty consecutive years. Connecticut Top Docs has recognized him from 2021 through 2025. His current research examines racial and ethnic disparities in ART outcomes and the role of environmental exposures in reproductive health.
The clinical support team includes advanced practice registered nurses with specialized IVF training. Patricia O'Neill, APRN, is among the confirmed advanced practice providers affiliated with the Westport office. All registered nurses at Yale Fertility Center receive specialized training in IVF protocols before assuming clinical duties.
Services and Treatments
Yale Fertility Center – Westport offers a broad range of reproductive medicine services:
- In vitro fertilization (IVF), including standard and antagonist stimulation protocols
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI) and ovulation induction
- Egg freezing (elective oocyte cryopreservation) and embryo cryopreservation
- Frozen embryo transfer (FET)
- Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (PGT-A) and monogenic disorders (PGT-M)
- Donor egg IVF cycles
- Donor embryo (embryo donation) cycles
- Gestational carrier (surrogacy) coordination
- Donor sperm services
- Male fertility evaluation through the Male Fertility Program, which Yale notes is one of few U.S. programs staffed by a physician with dual training in male and female infertility
- Fertility preservation for cancer patients (oncofertility), coordinated through Yale's dedicated Fertility Preservation Program
- Recurrent pregnancy loss evaluation and management through a dedicated Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Program
- Third-party reproductive assistance, including services for same-sex couples and transgender individuals
- Comprehensive ovarian reserve testing (AMH, FSH, antral follicle count)
- Diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy (typically performed at the Orange or New Haven campus)
Monitoring appointments — including blood draws and transvaginal ultrasounds for follicle tracking — can be completed at the Westport office during regular weekday hours. Egg retrievals and major surgical procedures are performed at the main campus, which is standard practice for satellite fertility offices.
Laboratory and Success Rates
Yale Fertility Center's main laboratory in Orange, Connecticut holds verified accreditation through SART, which requires participating labs to meet a defined standard for quality and oversight. The lab is directed by Cihan Halicigil, PhD, HCLD (High Complexity Laboratory Director) — a credential issued by the American Board of Bioanalysis that specifically governs embryology and andrology laboratory directors. SART membership with verified lab accreditation means the center's ART data are independently reviewed and validated before publication.
According to the most recent SART clinic outcome report (2023 data, published under Yale Fertility Center's consolidated SART registration), the center performed 814 total ART cycles. Live birth rates per intended egg retrieval using the patient's own eggs were as follows: 57.9% for patients under 35; 37.6% for ages 35–37; 23.3% for ages 38–40; and 13.2% for ages 41–42. Singleton delivery rates exceeded 88% across all age groups where live births occurred, reflecting a strong commitment to single embryo transfer. These figures are reported by the Yale Medicine website as approximately 79% successful pregnancies through IVF for patients under 35 when donor egg cycles are included, and a published 78% live birth rate through egg donation cited from 2015 outcomes under Dr. Seli's program.
Patients are always encouraged to consult the primary data sources directly: the SART Clinic Summary Report and the CDC ART Surveillance system. Filtering by your own age bracket and diagnosis category will give you the most relevant comparison point.
Patient Experience
The Westport office is described by patients as a small, community-oriented satellite where staff recognition is high — a contrast to the larger Orange and New Haven campuses. Many reviewers specifically name nurses and front-desk staff as consistently warm and attentive, and several call out Dr. Seli's approach as thorough and unhurried during consultations. Monitoring appointments at Westport operate on a first-come, first-served basis during early morning hours (weekdays, approximately 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM), which means arriving early minimizes wait times for blood draws and ultrasounds. Weekend monitoring sessions are typically conducted at the Orange campus, so patients who require Saturday monitoring will need to plan for a drive of roughly 45 to 55 minutes depending on traffic on I-95 or Route 1.
Some patient reviews note that the Westport office has limited holiday hours and may close on short notice due to staffing, directing patients to the main campus. This satellite model is common across academic medical systems and is generally considered a reasonable trade-off for the depth of subspecialty expertise the Yale affiliation provides. On review aggregator platforms, Yale Fertility Center – Westport has received positive recognition for the quality of its physician team, though the relatively small size of the Westport-specific review pool means individual experiences carry more weight in the overall picture than at higher-volume independent practices.
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
Connecticut is among the states with a comprehensive infertility insurance mandate. Under Connecticut General Statutes § 38a-509, fully insured health plans delivered or renewed in Connecticut are required to cover medically necessary diagnosis and treatment of infertility. That coverage includes up to four ovulation induction cycles, three IUI cycles, and two IVF cycles with up to two embryo transfers per IVF cycle. As of January 1, 2024, plans are prohibited from making distinctions based on gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or age when determining coverage eligibility, though medical-necessity determinations may still reference ASRM clinical guidelines as a framework.
Important caveats apply: self-funded employer health plans — which many large national employers use — are governed by federal ERISA law, not state insurance mandates, and are not required to provide infertility coverage. Federal programs including Medicaid are also not bound by the Connecticut mandate. Yale Fertility Center's financial coordinators assist patients with benefit verification, prior authorization, and cost estimation before treatment begins. For patients without qualifying coverage, the practice offers financing pathways and participates in medication assistance programs. Yale Medicine's institutional affiliation also opens access to certain research protocols and clinical trials that may offset treatment costs for eligible patients.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Westport office and the main Yale Fertility Center campus? The Westport satellite at 125A Kings Highway North handles consultations, monitoring appointments (blood draws and ultrasounds), and follow-up visits. Egg retrievals, embryo transfers, and any surgical procedures are performed at the main campus in Orange, CT. Both locations are staffed by the same pool of Yale School of Medicine faculty physicians, so your physician team remains consistent regardless of which site you visit for a given appointment.
Which physicians see patients at the Westport location? Confirmed physicians who consult at the Westport office include Dr. Emre Seli (Medical Director), Dr. Lubna Pal (PCOS and menopause subspecialty), Dr. Reshef Tal (implantation and embryology research), and Dr. David Seifer (ovarian reserve and AMH research). Individual physician availability at Westport versus Orange may vary by day of week; the scheduling team can confirm which physician is seeing new patients on a given date.
How does Yale Fertility Center handle LGBTQ+ family building? Yale Fertility Center explicitly lists services for same-sex couples and transgender individuals as a core program area. The Third-Party Reproductive Program coordinates gestational carrier cycles and donor gamete services, and the clinical team has experience with reciprocal IVF for couples where both partners want to participate biologically in a pregnancy.
How long does it typically take to get a new patient appointment in Westport? Wait times vary with demand and season, but academic medical center fertility practices in Connecticut generally schedule new patient consultations within two to four weeks. Patients with time-sensitive diagnoses — such as those undergoing cancer treatment — are typically seen on an expedited basis through Yale's oncofertility coordination pathway. Calling the Westport office directly at (203) 341-8899 will give you the most current scheduling window.