Busting myths about embryo transfer- what every IVF patient needs to know

 

One of the major issues about IVF treatment is the number of myths and misconceptions with surround embryo transfer .

Many patients are still very confused about the difference between embryo transfer and embryo implantation , and why it’s better to do a blastocyst transfer , rather than a day 3 transfer . Unless you clear these doubts , you will never be sure that you are receiving top quality medical care.

The biggest problem is that there are many prescriptions and proscriptions about embryo transfer – and they come from both doctors as well as grandmothers .

Thus, you will get conflicting advice as to the importance of bed-rest; whether it’s safe to go back to work; and what foods to eat.

 Please remember that we do an embryo transfer , we are just mimicking what should have normally happened in the bedroom , but is not happening in the bedroom because of a problem, such as a low sperm count or blocked tubes .

The only difference is that normally, in vivo , the embryo reaches the uterus through the fallopian tubes , while when we do IVF we put it back into the uterus through a hollow plastic embryo transfer catheter , through the cervix .

The point is that once an embryo reaches the uterus , it doesn’t care whether it spent 5 days in the fallopian tube , of 5 days in the test tube . Once it’s inside the uterus , it is safe and secure, because the uterus is designed to keep the embryo safe , and mother nature has done an extremely good job over the last thousands of years of evolution, with perpetuating the human species !

Once an embryo is inside the uterus , it is safe like a pearl in an oyster.

The worst thing which you can possibly do is start treating yourself up as a patient , and take all kinds of unnecessary precautions , which are supposed to increase the chance of the embryo implanting. The truth is that you are not a patient – you are a healthy woman, and we are just helping you to have a baby !

No matter what you do – or don’t do - you cannot affect the outcome , because implantation is a biological process which we cannot influence .

 We have to accept the fact that medical technology has its limitations , and if you are willing to be patient , it’s just a matter of time that you will finally get pregnant, as long as you transfer top quality blastocysts into a uterus with a receptive endometrium .