How to Choose the Best Fertility Doctor in the UK: What to Check, and the Specialists at Plan Your Baby
By Marija Skujina, Founder & CEO, Plan Your Baby™ · Last updated 6 November 2026
In short: There is no single best fertility doctor in the UK. The right specialist is the one whose training matches your diagnosis, who treats at an HFEA-licensed centre with published results, and who stays with you from first consultation to pregnancy scan.
At Plan Your Baby, every patient has one named doctor from a team of five: Dr Sami Almusawa (Medical Director; Highly Commended, Best Fertility Doctor, Fertility Care Awards 2025), Professor Ying Cheong, Dr Lisa Stradiotto, Dr Mara Kotrotsou and Dr Nora Sahly. Consultations take place by video, and blood tests and scans are available at 450+ locations across the UK.
Most people who search for the best fertility doctor have already spent weeks reading rankings, reviews and success-rate tables. Many come away less sure than when they started. This guide sets out what to check, explains who does what in fertility care, and gives the full training, credentials and awards of each of our doctors, so you can compare them with anyone else you are considering.
What to check when choosing a fertility doctor in the UK
Seven checks separate a well-qualified fertility doctor from a well-marketed one. Most take a few minutes to verify.
- GMC registration. Every doctor practising in the UK must be registered with the General Medical Council. You can search any doctor by name or GMC number on the GMC register.
- Specialist training. Look for UK specialist training in obstetrics and gynaecology, shown by MRCOG (Member) or FRCOG (Fellow) of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, or by entry on the GMC's Specialist Register. Subspecialist accreditation in reproductive medicine is the highest level of formal training in this field, and British Fertility Society certificates show accredited training in specific procedures.
- Experience with your situation. Recurrent miscarriage, low ovarian reserve, PCOS, endometriosis, male factor infertility and fertility preservation each call for different expertise. Ask how often the doctor manages cases like yours.
- Where your treatment takes place. Egg collection, IVF and embryo transfer must happen at a centre licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Check that centre's birth rates on the HFEA's Choose a Clinic tool, not in clinic advertising.
- Continuity. Find out whether you will see the same doctor at every stage, or a different clinician at each appointment.
- Professional standing. Membership of the British Fertility Society (BFS) or the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), published research, teaching and advisory roles all show how a doctor is regarded by peers.
- Access and practicalities. Waiting times, where scans and blood tests happen, consultation fees and the languages a doctor speaks all shape your experience of treatment.
Directories such as Doctify and Top Doctors, and reviews on Google and Trustpilot, add patient experience to this picture. They don't replace the checks above.
Fertility doctor, consultant or fertility advisor: who does what
"Fertility advisor" is not a protected title in the UK. It can describe a doctor, a nurse, a coordinator or a counsellor, so it helps to know which role answers which question.
If you are not sure where to start, the free 15-minute call with a senior nurse or fertility coordinator exists for exactly that question.
Plan Your Baby fertility doctors at a glance
Five doctors lead care at Plan Your Baby, with more than 100 years of combined clinical experience between them.
Meet the doctors: training, credentials and awards
Each profile below sets out where the doctor trained, where they have practised, what they focus on and how their peers have recognised their work.
Dr Sami Almusawa, Medical Director and Lead Fertility Consultant
MBBS, MRCOG · 20+ years' experience · Highly Commended, Best Fertility Doctor, Fertility Care Awards 2025
Dr Almusawa qualified in 2003 and has practised in the UK since 2006. After training in general obstetrics and gynaecology, he moved to work exclusively in fertility, joining IVF Hammersmith in 2010.
He then spent ten years at ARGC (the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre) in London, working alongside Mr Mohamed Taranissi. His clinical focus is complex cases: recurrent miscarriage, recurrent implantation failure, male infertility and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS, also referred to as PMOS).
He co-founded Plan Your Baby with Marija Skujina and, as Medical Director, built its model of specialist video consultations with blood tests and scans close to home, so patients spend less time travelling and less money on repeat visits.
Credentials and recognition
- MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery)
- MRCOG (Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists)
- Highly Commended, Best Fertility Doctor, Fertility Care Awards 2025
- Expert commentary on fertility in Stylist, and interviewed by Authority Magazine on infertility and IVF
Languages: English, Arabic
View Dr Almusawa's full profile
Professor Ying Cheong, Fertility Consultant
MB BCh BAO, MD, MRCOG, FRCOG · 25+ years' experience · Professor in Reproductive Medicine, University of Southampton
Professor Cheong qualified in medicine at Trinity College Dublin in 1996, completed an MD at the University of Sheffield and gained MRCOG in 2003. She holds CCST and subspecialist accreditation in Reproductive Medicine, and was elected a Fellow of the RCOG in 2015.
Since 2008 she has been a Consultant Gynaecologist and Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton. In 2010 she co-founded Complete Fertility Southampton, a service that began within the NHS. After its acquisition by Virtus Health in 2018, she served as Medical Director and Responsible Officer until 2024.
She chairs the clinical governance board, the recurrent miscarriage expert hub and the regional multidisciplinary surgical reproductive medicine team. Her research centres on the endometrium and related conditions, including endometriosis, pelvic pain and adhesions.
Credentials and recognition
- MB BCh BAO, MA (Trinity College Dublin)
- MD (University of Sheffield)
- MRCOG; FRCOG (Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2015)
- CCST and subspecialist accreditation in Reproductive Medicine
- Postgraduate Certificate in Health Care Management (Birkbeck College, London)
- Professor in Reproductive Medicine, University of Southampton, teaching and supervising trainees since 2008
- Winner, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Tech Start-Up Award 2016, after founding the University of Southampton spin-out VivoPlex
- £845,000 NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) award (2017), with Professor Hywel Morgan, to develop an implantable sensor that measures temperature, oxygen and pH inside the womb
- 150+ peer-reviewed publications and 100+ invited international lectures
- Editorial boards of Scientific Reports (Nature), Human Fertility and Reproduction and Fertility
- Chair, ESHRE Special Interest Group in Reproductive Endocrinology
- Adviser to the MHRA, the RCOG and the HFEA
- Member, Cochrane Menstrual and Subfertility Group; has served as NIHR Clinical Research Network speciality lead for obstetrics and gynaecology
Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese
View Professor Cheong's full profile
Dr Lisa Stradiotto, Fertility Consultant
MBBCh, MRCOG · 20+ years' experience · Former Medical Director and HFEA Person Responsible, Avenues Life
Dr Stradiotto studied Medicine and Surgery at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, graduating with distinctions in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and in Clinical Medicine. She trained across general medicine, anaesthetics, general surgery, paediatrics and plastic surgery before specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology in South Africa and then the UK.
In London she completed specialist registrar training at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College London, as part of the Recurrent Miscarriage Team. A fellowship in Fetal Medicine at the Harris Birthright Centre, King's College Hospital followed, covering 11+ week and anomaly scanning.
In 2016 she was appointed Senior Clinical Fellow and Fertility Specialist at the Wolfson Fertility Centre, Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte's Hospital (Imperial College NHS Trust), after earlier experience at the Assisted Conception Unit, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. She has since been Fertility Consultant and Egg Donation Lead at Apricity Fertility, and Medical Director and HFEA Person Responsible at Avenues Life. She now practises as an independent fertility consultant in central London.
Her clinical work spans ultrasound scanning, ovulation induction, intrauterine insemination (IUI), egg collection, embryo transfer, egg donation programmes, and the investigation and management of recurrent miscarriage.
Credentials and recognition
- MBBCh (University of the Witwatersrand), with distinctions in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Clinical Medicine
- MRCOG (Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists)
- Fetal Medicine Foundation certification
- Former HFEA Person Responsible, the role legally responsible for supervising a licensed centre's activities
- Member, British Fertility Society
- Rated 4.95 out of 5 by patients on Doctify (14 reviews)
Languages: English, Italian, Portuguese, Afrikaans, Zulu (basic)
View Dr Stradiotto's full profile
Dr Mara Kotrotsou, Fertility Consultant
MUDr, MBA · 20+ years' experience · British Fertility Society certified trainer in pelvic ultrasound, embryo transfer and IUI
Dr Kotrotsou qualified in medicine at Charles University, Prague in 1998. After working in paediatric surgery at Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, she moved to the UK to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology. She held posts at Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Guy's and St Thomas', and completed registrar training through the Oxford and Eastern Deaneries, including Addenbrooke's.
She began working in reproductive medicine in 2010 as a Clinical Fellow at IVF Hammersmith. She has since been a Consultant Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist at Bourn Hall, Clinical Lead at CREATE Fertility, and a consultant at CARE Fertility and King's Fertility. Since 2024 she has practised as a Consultant in Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine through LCRH Fertility.
Her special interests are low ovarian reserve and recurrent treatment failure, and she has published on preimplantation genetic diagnosis, elective single embryo transfer, tubal surgery, and natural and modified natural IVF. She also works in menopause care and founded NIA Women's Wellness in 2025.
Alongside clinical practice, she completed an MBA with Merit at Imperial College Business School, was Chief Medical Officer at Apricity from 2019 to 2021, and co-founded Fourie Medical, which developed AI software for healthcare automation.
Credentials and recognition
- MUDr, Medicine (Charles University, Prague)
- Diploma of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care
- MBA with Merit (Imperial College Business School)
- British Fertility Society certificates in Assisted Conception, and in Pelvic Ultrasound and Embryo Transfer
- British Fertility Society certified trainer in pelvic ultrasound, embryo transfer and IUI
- Co-author, with Professor Geeta Nargund and Professor Stuart Campbell, of the chapter on natural and modified natural IVF cycles in Organization and Management of IVF Units (Springer)
- Lead author of a review of tubal surgery in subfertility in Human Fertility (2012)
- Assessor, NHS Innovation Accelerator (since 2024); former member, Clinical Advisory Board of AngelMD
- Expert commentary on egg freezing and fertility policy in Mother&Baby and Pinsent Masons' Out-Law
- Memberships held: British Fertility Society, ESHRE, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, British Menopause Society, North American Menopause Society
Languages: English and Greek (native), Norwegian (A2–B1)
View Dr Kotrotsou's full profile
Dr Nora Sahly, Speciality Doctor in Fertility, Sexual and Reproductive Health
MBBS, MRCOG, MRCPI (O&G), DFSRH · 15+ years' experience · Assisted Conception Unit, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital
Dr Sahly is a Speciality Doctor in Fertility, Sexual and Reproductive Health at the Assisted Conception Unit at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London. Her work covers evidence-based care across reproductive medicine.
She has particular expertise in fertility preservation, including for teenagers and young adults and before cancer treatment, and in preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). She also works across LGBTQ+ family building, donation and surrogacy services, as part of multidisciplinary teams caring for individuals and couples of every gender and background.
Credentials and recognition
- MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery)
- MRCOG (Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists)
- MRCPI (O&G) (Member of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Obstetrics and Gynaecology)
- DFSRH (Diploma of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare)
- Published research from King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, including first-authored papers on hysteroscopic treatment of severe Asherman syndrome and on laparoscopic surgery for large ovarian dermoid cysts [confirm with Dr Sahly]
Languages: English, Arabic
Awards and recognition
Plan Your Baby and its doctors have been recognised 13 times since 2016, most recently as winner of the Fertility Innovation award at the Femtech World Awards 2026.
Plan Your Baby is rated 5.0 on Google Reviews. Dr Lisa Stradiotto is rated 4.95 out of 5 by patients on Doctify, and Professor Cheong's 150+ publications and Dr Stradiotto's graduation distinctions are listed in their profiles above.
How care works at Plan Your Baby
Every Plan Your Baby patient has one named doctor for the whole pathway, with consultations by video and tests close to home. In practice, care runs in six steps:
- A free 15-minute call with a senior nurse or fertility coordinator, covering your options and next steps.
- A video consultation with your named doctor over secure Zoom (30–45 minutes, £175). Slots run into the late evening, at weekends and on bank holidays, and there is no waiting list.
- A written summary and your personalised treatment pathway soon after the call, with any prescriptions issued online.
- Investigations and monitoring: blood tests and ultrasound scans at 450+ locations across the UK, with results reviewed by the same doctor.
- Procedures: egg collection, embryology and embryo transfer take place at HFEA-licensed partner centres in London: ARGC, Aria Fertility and King's Fertility.
- Through to your pregnancy scan: monitoring continues with the same team once you are pregnant.
Plan Your Baby's success rate is 67% for patients aged 37 and under.
Plan Your Baby is a CQC-registered clinic and a satellite clinic of ARGC. It is not itself HFEA-licensed, because it has no embryology laboratory on site. Behind the doctors sits a wider team of fertility midwives and nurses, embryologists, genetic counsellors, nutritional therapists and counsellors, who have cared for more than 1,000 patients.
"Most people arrive here after months of being passed between clinics, repeating the same history to a different doctor each time. We built Plan Your Baby so that wouldn't happen: one named doctor who stays with you, and a team of nurses, embryologists, counsellors and nutritional therapists behind them." Marija Skujina, Founder and CEO, Plan Your Baby
Matching your situation to a specialist
The right doctor depends on what you are facing. These are the doctors whose training and current practice focus most closely on each situation.
Consultations in your first language
Many patients find it easier to discuss medical history in their first language. Between them, our doctors consult in eight languages.
If you are unsure which doctor fits, the free 15-minute call is the place to ask.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best fertility doctor in the UK?
There is no single best fertility doctor in the UK. The right doctor for you has specialist training in reproductive medicine, has experience with your specific diagnosis, treats at an HFEA-licensed centre with published results, and will see you consistently. Plan Your Baby's five doctors are profiled above, including Dr Sami Almusawa, Highly Commended for Best Fertility Doctor at the Fertility Care Awards 2025.
What is a fertility advisor?
A fertility advisor is anyone who guides you through fertility options, from a doctor to a fertility nurse, coordinator or counsellor. The title is not protected in the UK. For diagnosis and a treatment plan, you need a fertility doctor; for a first conversation about options and costs, a fertility nurse or coordinator is usually the right start.
Can I see a fertility consultant online in the UK?
Yes. At Plan Your Baby, consultations with a fertility doctor take place over secure Zoom video, and blood tests and scans are carried out at 450+ locations across the UK. Egg collection and embryo transfer take place in person at one of our HFEA-licensed partner centres in London: ARGC, Aria Fertility or King's Fertility.
How do online fertility consultations work?
Consultations take place over secure Zoom video, so you can join from home or work without travelling to a clinic. Your doctor goes through your history, test results and goals with you, and you can ask questions as you would in a clinic room.
Can I book a consultation in the evening, at the weekend or on a bank holiday?
Yes. Plan Your Baby offers consultation slots late into the evening, at weekends and on bank holidays.
Is there a waiting list to see a fertility doctor?
No. There is no waiting list at Plan Your Baby: you choose an available slot when you book.
What happens after my consultation?
You receive a written summary of your consultation and a personalised treatment pathway soon after the call. If you need medication, your prescription is issued online, so there is no separate appointment to collect it.
How much does a private fertility consultation cost?
At Plan Your Baby, a 30–45 minute video consultation with a fertility doctor costs £175, and an initial 15-minute call with a senior nurse or fertility coordinator is free [confirm prices at publication]. Fees at other UK clinics vary by clinician, location and appointment length.
How do I check a fertility doctor's qualifications?
Search the doctor's name or GMC number on the General Medical Council register to confirm they are licensed to practise. Check their postnominals for MRCOG or FRCOG. For results, look up the centre where your treatment would take place on the HFEA's Choose a Clinic tool.
What do MRCOG and FRCOG mean?
MRCOG means Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, awarded after the College's specialist examinations. FRCOG means Fellow, a later distinction recognising a member's contribution to the specialty. Four of Plan Your Baby's doctors hold MRCOG, and Professor Ying Cheong is also a Fellow (FRCOG).
Is Plan Your Baby an HFEA-licensed clinic?
No. Plan Your Baby is a CQC-registered clinic and a satellite clinic of ARGC. It has no embryology laboratory on site, so all embryology, egg collections and embryo transfers take place at HFEA-licensed partner centres: ARGC, Aria Fertility and King's Fertility.
Which UK fertility clinics have the highest success rates?
The HFEA publishes comparable birth rates for every licensed UK centre on its Choose a Clinic tool. Compare centres by age group and treatment type, since overall figures can hide large differences. Plan Your Baby's success rate is 67% for patients aged 37 and under.
Can I have a fertility consultation in a language other than English?
Yes. Plan Your Baby's doctors consult in Arabic (Dr Sami Almusawa, Dr Nora Sahly), Mandarin and Cantonese (Professor Ying Cheong), Greek (Dr Mara Kotrotsou), and Italian, Portuguese and Afrikaans (Dr Lisa Stradiotto).
Do I need a GP referral to see a private fertility doctor?
No. You can book a consultation with Plan Your Baby directly, without a GP referral. If you have previous test results, bring them so your doctor can review them.
Book a consultation
Start with a free 15-minute call with a senior nurse or fertility coordinator, or book a 30–45 minute video consultation with one of our doctors for £175. Questions about which doctor fits your situation are welcome on either call.
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