After Embryo Transfer

Understandably, a large proportion of women are nervous after the embryo transfer and they are usually worried as to what they can or cannot do.   We recommend that patients take two to three days off work at this stage. Several studies have shown that the rate of implantation is not influenced by physical activity so there is no need to be confined to bed. The only advice we give is to avoid sexual intercourse, swimming and bathtubs until the outcome of the treatment is known. There are no other restrictions and most women may resume their normal activities.  Untransferred embryos of adequate quality can be frozen and stored to be replaced at a later date.

After your egg collection you will be given either a prescription for progesterone, as pessaries (Cyclogest) or by injection (Gestone).  The pessaries need to be inserted into your vagina twice a day until the urine pregnancy test which is performed sixteen days after embryo transfer.   If your test is positive, please book to see the nurses for a blood test to confirm viable levels.   An ultrasound scan will usually be performed two weeks later to check that the pregnancy has implanted in the uterus and to check the number of gestational sacs.  Regular ultrasound scans will be carried out in the early part of your pregnancy to confirm viability and normal development. You will then be referred back to your General Practitioner who will arrange for you to be booked for antenatal care at your preferred or local hospital.

The miscarriage rate in a viable pregnancy, i.e. one which has demonstrated the presence of a fetal heart at about seven weeks gestation, is about 8%. This does not seem to be significantly higher than in spontaneous pregnancies.  There is no increased risk of congenital abnormalities in babies born from in vitro fertilisation; the risk is similar to that in natural conception. The chance of an ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy implanting in the wrong place, usually in the fallopian tube), is about 2%. Such pregnancies are not viable and require an operation to remove them as they can be life-threatening if they rupture.

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The Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health (CRGH)
The New Wing - Eastman Dental Hospital
256 Gray's Inn Road - London WC1X 8LD
t: 020 7837 2905 w: www.crgh.co.uk
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