Assisted hatching during frozen embryo transfer

An embryologist makes a small opening or thinning in the embryo's outer layer, called the zona pellucida. The intention is to help the embryo emerge from this layer before implantation, but suitability and expected benefit depend on the embryo and the clinic's treatment plan.

Frozen embryos are thawed and assessed in the laboratory before transfer. Assisted hatching, when planned, is carried out during this laboratory stage rather than as a separate procedure on your body. You do not feel the opening being made.

The step does not alter the transfer route: the embryo is still placed into the womb through a thin catheter. It also does not ensure implantation or pregnancy. The embryo can be damaged during manipulation, so the decision should balance the proposed reason with that risk.

Follow the clinic's instructions for medicines, timing and bladder preparation. Take progesterone, including micronised progesterone if prescribed, exactly on schedule and contact the clinic before changing a dose. Confirm whether assisted hatching is planned, why it is being offered and whether consent is separate.

After transfer, continue medicines as directed and use the clinic's date for pregnancy testing. Ordinary gentle movement does not dislodge an embryo; follow any personalised activity advice given for your broader medical circumstances.

Call the fertility team promptly if you miss a medicine dose, vomit soon after taking it, cannot use a prescribed vaginal medicine, or are unsure about the transfer or test schedule. These issues are time-sensitive even when you otherwise feel well.

Seek urgent medical care after transfer for severe or worsening abdominal pain, heavy bleeding, fainting, shoulder-tip pain, breathing difficulty, fever, or marked abdominal swelling. Light spotting or mild cramping can occur, but symptoms alone cannot confirm whether implantation has happened.

Ask what feature of your treatment makes assisted hatching worth considering, which method the laboratory uses, what could happen to the embryo, whether the plan changes after thawing, and what alternatives include proceeding with transfer without this step.