What you can do after the treatment
It is wise to take things easy after the egg collection and perhaps have a day off work the following day. The second or third day after egg collection is the day of the embryo transfer, after which you can go back to "normal". The embryos are quite safe within the womb and you can walk about, bathe, shower and undertake normal daily activities. It is best to avoid strenuous activity and heavy lifting until your abdomen is less tender and back to normal. Sexual intercourse can be resumed whenever you feel appropriate.
Abdominal distension and a bloated feeling is common, and this may be associated with feeling sick. Sometimes these symptoms occur after a few days. It is important to drink plenty of fluids and paracetamol may be taken for pain relief if necessary.
Fourteen days after your embryo transfer it is essential to perform a pregnancy test as this is the only way to find out if implantation occurred or not. It is also the only way to make an early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy (rare).
If pregnancy occurs
Again, there is nothing special that you need do. Early pregnancy can be monitored with a scan at seven weeks gestation. At this stage, the position and number of fetuses can be confirmed.
The risk of miscarriage following IVF is comparable to that in the general population. If you conceive, the risk of an ectopic pregnancy (growing outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube) is minimal In the event of this happening as confirmed by an ultrasound scan, an operation may be necessary as ectopic pregnancies do not develop normally and have to be removed. However, if you have any pain or bleeding in early pregnancy, you should report your symptoms to the clinic or your GP.
Freezing excess embryos
If there are any surplus embryos of sufficiently good quality, you may choose to have these frozen for your future use. You will need to check with the embryologist to see if your surplus embryos can be frozen. However, even good quality embryos may not survive the freezing process and the pregnancy rate from frozen embryo transfer is lower than with fresh embryos.
In this guide
