Navigating the IVF process can be stressful. There’s a lot to think about and process: hormones, treatment cycles, side effects, appointments, and more. One way to help manage stress is by being prepared and staying organized.
This starts with the prep stage, which includes making small lifestyle changes and taking medications to stimulate or wake up your ovaries. Next, you’ll get an injection of a pregnancy hormone to help your eggs mature quickly.
Preparing for IVF
IVF can be a physically and emotionally demanding process. It requires a lot of waiting, hormone injections and potentially invasive procedures. Your first treatment cycle is generally the most stressful, according to research. The stress is largely due to the newness of the procedure and the uncertainty of its outcomes.
Medical tests help determine your ovarian reserve and check for other health issues that may impact fertility. A uterine lining ultrasound measures the thickness of your endometrium. You will also undergo an infectious blood test panel, which includes Hepatitis B core antibody and surface antigen, Hepatitis C antibody, Syphilis, HIV 1 and 2, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia.
You will need to consider whether you will use your own eggs and sperm, donated eggs or sperm or a gestational carrier. If you plan on using a donor, a trained counselor with expertise in donor issues can help you understand the complications and concerns involved. You can also ask your doctor to test embryos for genetic diseases before transferring them.
During IVF
Your fertility team will provide you with a treatment plan that includes a detailed schedule of medications, tests and procedures. If you have insurance, check in advance with your insurance company and financial contract to be clear about what the plan covers (and doesn’t), expected co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses for both the IVF cycle and fertility medications.
During IVF, you take medications to help several of your eggs develop and mature. Then doctors manually combine your eggs with sperm in the lab, helping sperm penetrate and fertilize each egg. They then put one or more fertilized eggs (embryos) into your uterus.
IVF is a good option for people who have tried less-invasive treatment methods and are at an advanced maternal age or have a medical condition such as ovarian disorders or low sperm count. It is also a reproductive option for same-sex couples, and for women who want to use donated eggs or embryos or gestational surrogates.
Post IVF
IVF is a complex, intensive medical process with many steps. It’s a powerful way to achieve your family-building goals, but it can also be stressful. As the Director of Nursing at Illume Fertility, I’m here to help you navigate your IVF cycle with ease and confidence.
For the best results, it’s helpful to prepare for IVF in advance. This will ensure you have a clear understanding of the treatment’s timeline, what to expect at each stage and what your responsibilities are throughout the process.
At the beginning of your IVF journey, review your doctor’s individualized treatment protocol. This includes a detailed “recipe” of medications, blood work and ultrasounds that is customized to your unique medical history. During this meeting, your doctor will discuss your individual goals and explain your treatment options. Make sure you ask questions and take notes so you can understand the information thoroughly. This is especially important during the oocyte retrieval and fertilization phases, which are known to cause a high level of stress for patients.
After IVF
If you’re seeking fertility treatment, it is important to be aware of the potential for medical complications that can occur. This is particularly true if you or your partner have a genetic condition, high thyroid or blood sugar levels, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), or are at an advanced maternal age.
A major component of IVF is the use of injectable hormone medications to encourage multiple eggs to develop. These medications include follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and a combination of both, to stimulate more than one egg to mature during each cycle.
Once the eggs are retrieved, they’ll be fertilized with your partner’s (or donor’s) sperm. The resulting embryo(s) will then be transferred to your uterus. During this time, you may need to take progesterone medication, which helps prepare the womb for a healthy pregnancy and reduces the risk of miscarriage. It’s also important to continue taking all your medications, as instructed by your doctor.