TIPS FOR A SMOOTH EMBRYO TRANSFER DAY AND THE DAYS FOLLOWING

Get a Good Rest

Anticipation the night before any big event can make it difficult to unwind and fall asleep. You might want to start your evening routine early to leave time for extra wind-down activities such as lighting candles, a warm shower, breathing exercises, writing in a gratitude journal, etc. Now is the perfect time to actually take the time to do whatever you find relaxing, soothing, and nourishing.

It might also be helpful to listen to a guided meditation to help you fall asleep. There are many wonderful free recordings out there (YouTube is a great source). Did you know there are also several guided meditation programs specific to IVF? Here are some links to the ones we have used in our clinic:

• Circle & Bloom
• Brain Tap

Have a Blood Sugar Balancing Breakfast

Embryo transfers typically take place late morning to early afternoon. You won’t want to be hungry or have your blood sugars crashing during the procedure. Blood sugar balance impacts your hormone balance (and plays a role in inflammation) so I always recommend having a warm breakfast with some healthy fat and protein to help keep your blood sugars steady throughout the morning. Warm or room temperature food and drinks are not only easier to digest and absorb, but unlike cold or icy food, they don’t divert as much blood flow to the stomach (and away from that nice uterine lining for example).

Bladder Management

Almost every embryo transfer needs to be performed with a full bladder so that the physician can see what they are doing. Finding the sweet spot of having your bladder full enough but not too full is often the trickiest part of the whole day. Here is what I have found to work well:

Drink plenty of warm or room temperature water at home on the morning of your transfer. Maybe a liter.

Empty your bladder right before you leave the house to go to the fertility clinic and bring a water bottle with you. Your body will continue to process the water you drank earlier and your bladder will begin to fill again on the way over.

Remember your transfer may not happen exactly at the scheduled time. There are likely procedures before yours and sometimes issues occur that can cause a delay. If for some reason your transfer time is running late and your bladder is becoming uncomfortable, you will be able to let out a little bit of urine to help relieve the pressure. The nurses often provide you with a small cup to help know how much to let out. This may sound impossible but it actually works and helps a lot.

Bring Cozy Socks

You will not be wearing shoes into the procedure room so instead of having to wear scratchy paper booties over your bare feet, make sure to bring your favorite warm pair of socks.

Soothing Objects

Some people find it helpful to bring a small object or talisman that helps them feel calm, centered, and positive. Any charm that helps set an intention or feel more grounded is great. Crystals can work well for this – a polished piece of rose quartz or aventurine fits perfectly in the palm.

Prepare For The Anticlimax

The road to embryo transfer day can be long. You have probably been through so much preparing for this day and when it finally arrives, the procedure takes about10 minutes! You arrive, change into your wrap skirt, receive your ID bracelet and some instructions, probably wait around for a bit, go into the procedure with a full bladder, have the transfer which you can watch on a monitor but don’t blink – it only takes about 10 minutes, then empty your bladder right away and are sent home! It can be disconcerting how quickly things happen and how little fanfare there is on the big day. This is just one of the reasons we find having acupuncture right before and/or after your embryo transfer can be helpful and change the experience from rushed and overwhelming to calm and mindful.

Book Your Transfer Day Acupuncture

This famous study shows having Acupuncture before and right after embryo transfer improves implantation rates by 15% as well as marked improvements in live birth rates. This newer study,  however, shows that a greater number of Acupuncture treatments increased clinical pregnancy rates by 50% with having 10-12 sessions of Acupuncture (not just day of transfer) had an improved outcome for live birth rates over IVF Embryo transfer alone and Embryo transfer with Acupuncture on the day of. At Health Pointe Jacksonville, our programs are created with this research in mind and are designed to decrease day of transfer stress. Our patients are scheduled to have either the pre or the post transfer day treatment when combined with our IVF Prep Plans, then we perform the luteal phase acupuncture treatments 4 days post- transfer and up to pregnancy test.

Physical benefits of acupuncture on this day include increasing blood flow to the uterine lining, helping to calm uterine spasming, calming the nervous system, and reducing cortisol levels. On top of the physical benefits, we find that acupuncture changes the whole transfer day experience in a positive way.

Empty Your Bladder With Confidence

It is very important to empty your bladder post-transfer. This helps prevent uterine spasms and UTI’s – neither of which are helpful for implantation. It can feel very counter-intuitive to pee right after the embryo has been so carefully placed but please don’t worry – these are different plumbing systems! The embryo is in your uterus, not your bladder. It is physically impossible to pee it out as urine does not pass through this area. At all. Be confident.

Don’t

• drink or eat cold foods
• hop into the sauna or hot tub for any reason
• use heating pads
• use ice applications on anything (ex: ice pack for back, neck, extremity…)
• participate in HOT yoga. like, ever.
• exercise on high intensity (for you specifically, just daily walking and gentle yoga are perfect)
• train for any extreme event: marathon, cross fit, ultra anything
• drink alcohol (now is not the time for a celebratory drink) 😉