A six-physician OB/GYN practice holding a 4.8-star rating across 634 patient reviews in west Cobb County has earned something difficult in suburban women's healthcare: sustained patient trust across routine prenatal visits, gynecologic surgery, and fertility evaluations. Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates, PA, operating from two Cobb County locations, occupies that uncommon position in the northwest Atlanta metro.
For patients beginning a fertility journey in the Powder Springs, Austell, or West Cobb corridor, the practice offers a meaningful alternative to driving intown to a dedicated reproductive endocrinology center — a distinction that matters logistically, clinically, and financially in a state with no fertility insurance mandate.
About the Practice
Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates operates from two offices in Cobb County, anchoring both ends of the county's densely populated suburban stretch. The flagship location sits in Marietta proper at the Kennestone Outpatient Pavilion, 699 Church Street, Suite 220 — directly adjacent to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, one of the Atlanta region's major tertiary care facilities. The West Cobb location at 5041 Dallas Highway, Suite 115, Powder Springs, GA 30127 serves patients from Powder Springs, Austell, Douglasville, and the communities along the Dallas Highway corridor.
Both offices operate Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM, with online scheduling available through the practice website.
The clinical team fields six physicians and four advanced practice providers:
Physicians:
- Elizabeth R. Taghechian, MD — OB/GYN
- Carlos I. Alarcon, MD — OB/GYN
- Stacy L. Sims, MD — OB/GYN
- Sheema Khan-Simba, MD — OB/GYN
- Hien Doan, MD, MPH — OB/GYN
- Anusha Valluru, MD — OB/GYN
Advanced Practice Providers:
- Jennifer Afman, CNM — Certified Nurse Midwife
- Amy Gaynor, WHNP — Women's Health Nurse Practitioner
- Vanessa Frans, PA-C — Physician Assistant, Certified
- Joy Ashworth, FNP — Family Nurse Practitioner
The breadth of that team matters for fertility patients specifically. A practice that includes a certified nurse midwife and a women's health nurse practitioner can distribute the monitoring, counseling, and follow-up that infertility evaluation and early treatment cycles require.
Infertility Services
Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates provides a formal infertility program embedded within its broader women's health practice. The team's approach centers on the recognition that roughly one in ten women of reproductive age will encounter infertility, and that identifying the underlying cause — before committing to any treatment protocol — is the essential first step.
Comprehensive Diagnostic Evaluation
The practice begins with a thorough intake that covers medical and health history in full: current medications, prior illnesses and surgeries, past pregnancies, and relevant lifestyle factors. Laboratory workup is standard and designed to map the hormonal and ovarian landscape:
- Progesterone levels — confirming whether ovulation is occurring on the expected timeline
- Thyroid function — ruling out hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, two common hormonal disruptors of ovulatory regularity
- Prolactin levels — elevated prolactin can suppress ovulation entirely, and is addressable with medication
- Ovarian reserve testing — assessing the quantity and quality of remaining eggs, which has direct implications for treatment planning and timeline
Structural evaluation, when indicated, can extend to pelvic ultrasound to assess the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tube anatomy.
Treatment Options
Once a root cause is established, the practice offers targeted interventions:
Ovulation induction is the first-line treatment for patients whose infertility is traced to irregular or absent ovulation. The practice uses ovulation-inducing medications — including agents such as clomiphene citrate — to stimulate the ovaries to develop and release a mature egg on a predictable schedule. This approach is particularly effective for patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) or hypothalamic dysfunction causing anovulation.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) places a concentrated preparation of healthy sperm directly into the uterus at the predicted moment of ovulation. IUI is commonly combined with ovulation induction for patients with mild male-factor infertility, unexplained infertility, or cervical factor issues. For many couples, it represents the most cost-effective first active treatment step before considering more intensive options.
The practice also addresses structural contributors to infertility — including fallopian tube pathology, endometriosis, and uterine irregularities — and manages the full range of conditions that intersect with fertility: PCOS, thyroid disorders, and hormonal imbalances that require coordinated medical management alongside any conception attempts.
What 4.8 Stars Across 634 Reviews Means in West Cobb County
West Cobb County's women's health market is anchored by WellStar Health System, which has absorbed and affiliated numerous independent practices in the region over the past decade. In that environment, maintaining an independent, multi-physician practice with a 4.8-star rating accumulated across 634 patient reviews — spanning prenatal care, gynecologic surgery, infertility consultations, and routine well-woman visits — represents a meaningful competitive signal.
Patient satisfaction at this level, sustained across hundreds of encounters, typically reflects something systematic: appointment access without months-long waits, clinical communication that leaves patients feeling heard, and care continuity across a sensitive treatment cycle. For fertility patients who may need monitoring appointments at short notice during ovulation induction cycles, those operational details are not peripheral — they are the care itself.
The dual-location model amplifies this. A Powder Springs patient can access the West Cobb office without navigating the I-75 corridor, and the proximity of the Marietta office to WellStar Kennestone provides a natural referral pathway if hospital-based procedures become necessary.
Fertility Care in Georgia Without an Insurance Mandate
Georgia is one of the majority of U.S. states that does not require private insurers to cover fertility treatments such as IUI or IVF. That reality means patients at Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates — like patients throughout Georgia — are typically funding infertility evaluation and early treatment out of pocket or navigating whatever voluntary coverage their employer-sponsored plan includes.
This makes the choice of where to start a fertility workup a financial decision, not just a clinical one. An OB/GYN-based infertility evaluation is typically less expensive than an initial consultation at a dedicated reproductive endocrinology clinic. For patients with straightforward ovulatory dysfunction, PCOS, or unexplained infertility, ovulation induction and IUI — the services Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates provides — often result in pregnancy without ever requiring IVF.
For a breakdown of what fertility treatments cost in Georgia relative to other states, see our fertility insurance by state guide and IVF cost breakdown by state. If you're weighing whether to start with an OB/GYN or a specialist, our guide on how to choose a fertility clinic covers the key factors at each stage.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates offer IVF at the Powder Springs location?
The practice's documented fertility services include ovulation induction and IUI. Full IVF requires a dedicated laboratory and reproductive endocrinologist; if IVF becomes the appropriate next step, the clinical team can provide referrals to specialized centers in the greater Atlanta area. Call 770-422-8505 to discuss which services are available at each location.
Does the practice accept insurance for infertility evaluation and treatment?
Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates works with most major insurance carriers. However, Georgia has no fertility insurance mandate, meaning individual policy coverage varies significantly. Diagnostic testing (bloodwork, pelvic ultrasound) is more commonly covered than active treatment such as IUI or ovulation induction medications. The practice's billing team can help verify your specific benefits before you begin. For context on how Georgia's coverage landscape compares nationally, see our fertility insurance by state guide.
How does a patient get started with an infertility evaluation at the West Cobb office?
New patients can request an appointment online or by calling 770-422-8505. The Powder Springs office at 5041 Dallas Highway, Suite 115, is the practice's West Cobb access point. Bringing documentation of any prior hormone testing or reproductive health history helps the physician team move efficiently through the initial consultation, which covers medical history, medications, lifestyle factors, and prior pregnancy history.