What should you know about egg retrieval and embryo transfer?

Medicines first encourage several follicles to mature. A clinician then uses ultrasound guidance and a fine needle to collect eggs, usually while you are sedated. In the laboratory, an egg may be fertilised with sperm to create an embryo. Transfer involves passing a soft, narrow catheter through the cervix and placing an embryo inside the womb. Some embryos may be frozen for later use.

Mild cramping, bloating or light spotting can occur after retrieval or transfer. The procedure itself does not confirm pregnancy; a clinic schedules testing at the appropriate time. Micronised progesterone may be prescribed to support the uterine lining.

Follow the clinic’s instructions about stimulation medicines, trigger timing, fasting and transport home. Arrange an adult companion if sedation is used. After retrieval, drink as advised, rest, and use only pain relief approved by your fertility team. After transfer, take prescribed medicines exactly as directed and keep the clinic’s testing appointment. Ordinary gentle movement is generally preferred to strict bed rest, unless your clinician gives different advice.

Ask how many eggs were collected, whether fertilisation occurred, which embryo was transferred, and what happens to any remaining embryos. IVF treatment can include more than one cycle or a later frozen transfer.

Contact your fertility clinic promptly for heavy bleeding, severe or worsening abdominal pain, faintness, breathing difficulty, repeated vomiting, fever, or rapidly increasing abdominal swelling. These symptoms can signal a complication after ovarian stimulation or retrieval and need assessment. After transfer, report severe pain, heavy bleeding, fever, or a positive pregnancy test with one-sided pain or dizziness.

Ask which medicines you will use, how sedation affects eating and driving, what activity is suitable after each procedure, when pregnancy testing is planned, and who to call outside clinic hours.