Embryo Transfer
After weeks of injections, scans and waiting, the transfer itself takes about ten minutes and feels like a smear test. A fine catheter passes the embryo through the cervix into the uterus under ultrasound guidance, and you go home shortly afterwards.
- About ten minutes, no anaesthetic
- Ultrasound guided
- Home shortly afterwards
- Bed rest is not required
Stay
Outpatient
Duration
About 10 minutes
Anaesthesia
None usually required
About Embryo Transfer
Transfer can be done in a fresh cycle a few days after collection, or in a later frozen cycle where the lining is prepared with medication. A full bladder helps the ultrasound view and straightens the angle of the uterus. Afterwards, normal activity is fine: bed rest does not improve success and prolonged rest may slightly reduce it.
- Feels similar to a smear test for most women
- A full bladder improves the ultrasound view
- Bed rest afterwards does not improve success
- The two-week wait is the hardest part for most couples
Before you read on
Everything here is general information about embryo transfer. Whether it suits you, and how it would be done in your case, is a decision for your doctor after examining you.
Your consultant's instructions always take precedence over anything written on this page.
When is it recommended?
Situations in which a doctor may suggest embryo transfer.
- Anyone completing an IVF or ICSI cycle
- Frozen embryo transfer cycles
- Transfer of donor embryos where applicable
- Cycles following genetic testing of embryos
Procedure details
The usual sequence, from first consultation through to follow-up.
Preparation
You arrive with a comfortably full bladder. The embryologist confirms your identity and the embryo to be transferred.
The transfer
A speculum is placed, a fine catheter passed through the cervix, and the embryo released under ultrasound guidance.
Confirmation
The catheter is checked under the microscope to confirm the embryo has been released, and you are shown the ultrasound image.
Afterwards
You rest briefly and go home. Progesterone support continues, and a pregnancy test follows about two weeks later.
How to prepare
What to sort out before you come in.
- Arrive with a comfortably full bladder as instructed
- Continue progesterone and any other medication exactly as prescribed
- Avoid strong perfume, as the laboratory air is controlled
- Bring your partner if you would like them present, which is usually possible
- Plan a quiet rest of the day, though bed rest is not needed
Recovery
What to expect afterwards, and roughly when.
- Normal activity can resume the same day; bed rest is not advised
- Mild cramping or spotting afterwards is common and not a bad sign
- Continue progesterone until told to stop, even if you bleed
- Avoid a home pregnancy test before the date given, as it misleads either way
- A blood pregnancy test is done about two weeks after transfer
Why choose Humayun for embryo transfer
Transfer is technically simple and easy to do badly, and small details in technique matter more than patients realise.
- Ultrasound guidance for every transfer, which improves placement accuracy
- Soft catheters and gentle technique, since trauma to the lining reduces success
- The catheter checked afterwards to confirm the embryo was released
- Honest advice that bed rest does not help, rather than instructions that add anxiety
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More in Fertility & IVF
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Fertilisation carried out in our in-house embryology laboratory, followed by embryo transfer.
IUI (Intrauterine Insemination)
Prepared sperm placed directly into the uterus around ovulation - a simpler first step than IVF.
Fertility Assessment
Investigation of both partners to establish why conception has not happened, before any treatment is recommended.
Ovulation Induction
Medication to stimulate the ovaries to release an egg, for women who ovulate irregularly or not at all.
ICSI
A single sperm injected directly into an egg during IVF, used where sperm count, motility or shape is the problem.
Embryo Culture
The days in the laboratory between fertilisation and transfer, where embryos are grown and assessed.
Blastocyst Culture
Growing embryos to day five before transfer, which allows the strongest to be identified more reliably.
Male Infertility Assessment
Investigation of the male partner, which is involved in roughly half of couples and is frequently skipped.
Semen Analysis
Laboratory assessment of sperm count, movement and shape, the first and most useful test in male fertility.
Fertility Counselling
Support through the emotional and practical side of fertility treatment, which most couples find harder than the medicine.