Channing Burks Chatmon, M.D.

About

Reproductive endocrinology fellowships in the United States are three years and end with one board-eligible specialist. Dr. Channing Burks Chatmon did a different kind of training first: a dedicated Recurrent Pregnancy Loss fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and only afterward the Reproductive Endocrinology fellowship at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center / Case Western Reserve. That order is why patients with repeated losses describe her as someone who already knows their history rather than someone acquiring it.

She earned her medical degree at Indiana University School of Medicine and completed her internship and OB/GYN residency at Rush University Medical Center, where she was named Intern of the Year in 2013, Administrative Chief Resident in 2015-2016, and received the PGY4 Teaching Award in 2016. She became a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology after passing the certifying exam in 2020, and certified in the ASRM Embryo Transfer Stimulation Course in May 2019. From 2016 to 2018 she reviewed for Fertility and Sterility, the field’s flagship journal — a role that puts unglamorous scrutiny of evidence into a physician’s habits.

At Fertility Centers of Illinois she is Third Party Director, the role covering donor egg, donor sperm, embryo donation and gestational carrier pathways, and she sees patients at FCI’s Chicago and Hoffman Estates campuses. Her research has been presented to the medical community on evaluating ovarian reserve, assessing oocyte health and viability, and analyzing success rates with frozen embryos, single embryo transfer and genetic screening of embryos before transfer. In 2022 she co-presented a cross-sectional survey on burnout among healthcare workers during COVID-19 at the ASRM Congress and Scientific Expo.

She is a lifelong Midwesterner who calls compassionate care and shared decision-making the cornerstones of every patient relationship, and says plainly that addressing racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive medicine — through education, health literacy and access — is a life-long goal. She won the Cleveland Society of Obstetrics & Gynecology Fellow Research Award (2021) and was named a 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctor and a 2026 Castle Connolly Exceptional Women in Medicine. She was a Division I cheerleader at Indiana University for four years and still roots for the Colts and the Hoosiers.

Clinical Expertise

• Recurrent pregnancy loss: The specialty she trained in separately — systematic evaluation after repeated losses, then a plan for the next pregnancy rather than another unexamined attempt.
• PCOS and ovulatory disorders: She names Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and other ovulatory dysfunction among her special interests, from cycle and ovulation recovery through stimulation and metabolic management.
• Ovarian reserve and oocyte assessment: She has presented data on evaluating ovarian supply and on egg health and viability, the measurements that set stimulation intensity and timing.
• Frozen embryo transfer, single embryo transfer and PGT: She has analyzed success rates with frozen embryos, single embryo transfers and pre-transfer genetic screening — the three questions asked in every consent conversation.
• Reproductive surgery: A stated special interest, covering surgical conditions that affect whether an embryo can implant and a pregnancy can hold.
• Third-party reproduction: As FCI’s Third Party Director she handles the medical side of donor egg, donor sperm, embryo donation and gestational carrier cycles, including the counseling and coordination those paths require.

Why Choose Dr. Burks Chatmon

She trained in pregnancy loss before she trained in IVF. Most REI specialists meet recurrent loss as one diagnosis among dozens. She did a fellowship in it at UIC first, so evaluation and management of repeated loss are her formal background, not an accumulation of cases.

She reports outcomes with denominators. Her presentations cover ovarian reserve, oocyte viability, and success rates for frozen embryos, single embryo transfer and genetic screening. A physician who has presented that data tends to answer “what are the odds” with a population figure and a caveat rather than a vibe.

She reviews for the journal she prescribes from. Two years as a Fertility and Sterility reviewer (2016-2018) is a specific kind of exposure to how studies fail, and she has continued presenting — including a 2022 ASRM Congress paper on healthcare-worker burnout.

The surgical and the medical sit in one plan. Her interest in reproductive surgery means she can weigh whether a uterine or pelvic finding should be corrected before transfer, and sequence it, instead of ping-ponging the decision.

She owns the third-party pathway at FCI. Third Party Director is a defined internal role. Donor egg, donor sperm, embryo donation and gestational carrier cycles involve more parties and more paperwork than a standard cycle; having one physician responsible for that program is a practical advantage.

Access is a stated professional commitment, not a side note. She has said her long-term goal is reducing racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive medicine by improving education, health literacy and access to fertility care — relevant for international and first-generation patients who need a physician that assumes the job is to make you understand.

Professional Affiliations

Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (certifying exam passed 2020); American Society for Reproductive Medicine (Embryo Transfer Stimulation Course certification, May 2019; Congress & Scientific Expo presentations, 2022). Reviewer, Fertility and Sterility, 2016-2018. Awards: Intern of the Year and PGY4 Teaching Award (Rush University Medical Center), Administrative Chief Resident in OB/GYN (2015-2016), Medical Student Teaching Award (Case Western Reserve / University Hospital Cleveland, 2019), Cleveland Society of Obstetrics & Gynecology Fellow Research Award (2021), Castle Connolly Top Doctor and Exceptional Women in Medicine (2026). Featured in NBC10 Boston’s 2022 report on a professional soccer team supporting players’ family building. Hospital privileges at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and Advocate Christ Medical Center.

Suitable For

• Two or more losses before a live birth: Her fellowship training is specifically in recurrent pregnancy loss, so the workup and the next-pregnancy plan come from one physician.
• PCOS and irregular or absent ovulation: Named among her special interests, handled as an endocrine problem to be managed, not only a cycle to be stimulated.
• Patients deciding how many embryos to transfer: She has presented single-embryo-transfer and frozen-embryo outcome data, which is the honest basis for that choice.
• Anyone considering PGT before transfer: Pre-transfer genetic screening success rates are among the topics she has analyzed and reported.
• Donor egg, donor sperm, embryo donation or gestational carrier families: FCI’s Third Party Director oversees these pathways medically.
• Patients who want to understand, not just be told: She describes her practice as listening to each patient’s specific story, presenting individualized evidence-based options, and deciding the plan together.