Meet Dr. Jennifer Shannon: Your Partner on the Path to Parenthood
Dr. Jennifer Shannon is a Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Fertility Specialist at Dallas Fort Worth Fertility Associates. She is dedicated to helping individuals and couples navigate the challenges of growing their families.
A Journey from OB/GYN to Fertility Specialist
Dr. Shannon’s path to becoming a fertility specialist is rooted in a deep desire to provide better solutions for her patients. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Biochemistry and earned her Medical Degree (MD) from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul. After successfully completing her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, she practiced as an OB/GYN in Washington State for six years.
During her time as an OB/GYN, Dr. Shannon was very intrigued by the problems faced by her fertility patients. She felt she didn’t have good solutions for them in that role. This experience, combined with her commitment to improving patient care quality – serving on her hospital’s Quality Committee, updating procedures, and implementing programs like OB COAP and participating in the March of Dimes Committee on “Maternal and Child Health” – fueled her decision to pursue further specialization.
She returned to the UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, to complete a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI). While in fellowship, she published on ovarian tissue cryopreservation. She also received specific training in key areas such as the treatment of diminished ovarian reserve, pre-implantation genetic testing, and Mullerian anomalies.
A Unique Approach: Combining Expertise with Compassion
Dr. Shannon views her role as the perfect marriage of quality patient care and laboratory innovation. She enjoys treating all causes of infertility and sees this as an extension of her time as an obstetrician and a guardian of maternal and fetal health.
She believes many patients are not infertile, but rather “just struggling and they need help to have a successful fertility” journey. This perspective shapes her approach, which is characterized by a few key principles:
- Direct and Educational Communication: Dr. Shannon tends to be more direct in her communication with patients. She prioritizes providing a lot of education, aiming for patients to know and understand their situation on a level that is understandable, not just a textbook level. She likes patients to have realistic expectations of outcomes and experiences.
- Finding Fulfillment in Challenges: As a physician, Dr. Shannon finds it very fulfilling to have success in a challenging situation. She loves a challenge and is skilled at reviewing previous treatment plans to identify missed opportunities.
- Prioritizing Emotional Support: Dr. Shannon believes it is really important as a physician to support people as they go through the fertility journey, which is not an easy one. She understands patients can feel frustrated and that the emotional weight can lead to “fertility fatigue” because it just gets too overwhelming. Her advice to patients is: “Allow me and my team to help support you through it. Bring us your emotions, bring us your feelings, and we can help you work through those, because that’s a major component to why people experience… fertility fatigue… Support, lean on us, and we’re here to support you through this journey”.
- Managing Expectations: She emphasizes managing expectations and supporting patients through what can sometimes take time to be successful.
Beyond the Clinic
Originally from Minnesota, Dr. Shannon’s hobbies revolve around being outside. She enjoys golfing, hiking, kayaking, and canoeing, embracing the outdoors and encouraging her children to develop that same love. (She admits she’s not necessarily excellent at any of them, but loves being outside).
The Best Outcome
For Dr. Shannon, her favorite part of the journey is really graduating the family to their OB and feeling comfortable that they’ve made it through the first trimester – acknowledging that as a huge hurdle. “When I can say your baby looks great, you know continued care with your OB,” she believes that is the best outcome she can provide.
Dr. Shannon is currently accepting new patients at Dallas Forth Worth Fertility Associates Plano location.
Let Dr. Shannon and her team partner with you on your path to parenthood.
