Choose your Clinic

This is the most important decision you will make. This cannot be stressed enough. Other than the woman's age, it is the most crucial factor determining failure of success. Your physican, how they diagnose you, how they determine your protocol, their laboratory and how they culture the embryos, and their follow up with you post transfer, contributes GREATLY to the outcome. Clinics and their labs are not all made the same.

We made the mistake of going to our default local clinic because "we are healthy" and "didn't have a severe problem" and thought it would work for sure. We did have a problem....I, the female, was 39 years old. Our local clinic had a pregnancy rate of 50% and a live birth rate of just over 30% in that age group. Not great odds, but we were sure the odds were on our side because "we were healthy". Our local clinic did not work, and they said I had "a genetic issue" in regards to my eggs. In other words, they were too old. No, their lab was substandard and their procedures were not state of the art. We had no problem getting pregnant and having a baby at our next clinic, which was chosen based on much discussion, education and research. This is what you need to do:

1) LOOK AT LIVE BIRTH RATES AT YOUR AGE. And I mean "age" and not "age group". And I mean birth rates, not pregnancy rates. Every fertility clinic has a "Success Rates" or "Statistics" page. Here is BAD example of a statistics page. Notice that they grouped 35-39 years olds together, which skewes the stats. 35 year olds will have very different results than 39 years olds and it's deceiving. As well, they have NO live birth rates, making it seem as though the pregnancy rates are the chances of having a baby, which is not the case (due to the chances of miscariage)
http://www.pacificfertility.ca/?page_id=6
This is what is should look like: 
http://www.regionalfertilityprogram.ca/success-4.php
although....those are not the greatest success rates. Some of the best sucess rates come from clinics in the States, such as Denver, Colorado. They perform pre-implantation genetic testing (Comprehensive Chromosome Screening, or CCS) on the embryos which increases the pregnancy and live birth rates....see the "Genetic Testing" tab) Keep in mind that SART data is the nationally pooled data from all clinics accross the country.
http://www.colocrm.com/AboutCCRM/SuccessRates/2010IVFStatistics.aspx
Notice the drastic difference in the rates between Denver, Colorado, and this clinic in Chicago:
http://www.advancedfertility.com/ivf-success-rates.htm
You get the idea. Compare and compare again.

2) CONSIDER WAIT TIMES. Some clinics have a waiting lists. A waiting list to get the work up, and then a waiting list for the egg retrieval. From our fertility diagnosis to my negative pregnancy test, is took over 10 monts at our local clinic. At 39 years old every month makes a difference and that time was crucial. If you are over 35, factor in waiting lists into your decision about which clinic you will choose.

3) READ FORUMS. More on this on the "Go to a Forum" tab, but in the mean time, these two IVF forums have threads "by clinic". So you can see the discussions going on at each clinic, and once you have an account, you can ask questions yourself. DO NOT get overwhelmed by the acronims. They are easy to learn, and you will be a pro at it yourself in no time. Here is a guide to IVF acronyms, followed by the forum in Canada and the States.
http://www.ivf.ca/acronym.htm
Here are clinic chats in Canada:
http://ivf.ca/forums/forum/148-clinic-chat/
and here in the States. You need to click on "Forum" and register first.
http://www.ivfconnections.com/

4) CONSIDER GENETIC TESTING. Genetic testing on the embryo or blastocyst is performed in some clinics (none to my knowledge in Canada) to ensure that the embryo/blast is viable, with no chromosomal abnormalities. What does this mean for you? Not shaking in your boots when you get pregnant, hoping you will make it to the second trimester. IVF is such an emotional process, that having the peace of mind that your pregnancy will not miscarry due to a chromosomal abnormality, is priceless. There is still a small chance of miscariage even with genetically normal pregnancies of course, but the chances are DRASTICALLY reduced. My chances of pregnancy with our genetically normal blast were 64%. The chance of a live birth was 60%. But that is MUCH better than 50% and 30% respectively.

5) COST. Don't be tempeted to go to your local clinic because it costs a fraction of other "better" clinics. If you only have $10,000 to spend, then look for the best clinic in that price range. If you have $30,000 to spend, you may go to a clinic that charges $10,000 per egg retrieval and transfer and try three times and get nowhere (I can't tell you how often I've seen that....mind you, I've also seen it work the first time at a local clinic too) or, you can take the $30,000 and go to a better clinic who will take it all the first time, giving you a higher chance of it working. There are no guarantees either way. Remember that the most expensive part of IVF is the whole work up and egg retrieval the first time. If you have frozen embryos/blasts left over from the first cycle, the subsequent transferes will not be nearly as expensive. So the goal is to go to a clinic that will stimulate your ovaries according to your unique physiology and body chemistry, to obtain the maximum number of eggs the first time. Their lab will culture them optimally so you have as many as possible to keep transfering, should the first transfer not take. This is where the forums by clinic are important. Look at the other girls' signature (most women will sign their discussions with their handle, followed by their IVF journey. You will notice how many eggs were retrieved, fertilized and how many embryos remained. If not, ask away)

6) Consider you unique reasons for IVF, how specialized the clinic is, how old the femal is vs waiting times, how many tries you are willing to do, cost per try, and the travel required to the clinic. Look locally, nationally and internationally. Canadians should consider the States, and Europe (Czech Republic is known for donor eggs and embryos for example)