What should you know about frozen embryo transfer?

A frozen embryo transfer, often called FET, is a treatment cycle using an embryo preserved from an earlier IVF cycle. Your clinic may prepare the uterine lining with hormones, or follow your natural cycle when ovulation is suitable. Ultrasound and hormone checks help the team choose the transfer timing.

The transfer itself usually involves passing a thin catheter through the cervix and placing the embryo in the uterus. It does not involve opening the abdomen. The embryo is thawed according to the laboratory plan, and your clinician will explain what was observed after thawing.

Take prescribed medicines exactly as directed, including any progesterone such as micronised progesterone. Do not stop hormonal support because of light spotting without speaking with the clinic. Follow instructions about appointments, bladder preparation, and the pregnancy test date.

After transfer, ordinary gentle activity is generally possible, but follow your clinic’s specific advice about exercise, travel, intercourse, and other medicines. Mild cramping or a small amount of spotting can occur; these symptoms do not by themselves show whether implantation has occurred.

Contact your fertility team promptly for heavy bleeding, severe or worsening pelvic pain, fever, fainting, breathing difficulty, or marked abdominal swelling. Seek urgent medical help for collapse, severe one-sided pain, or difficulty breathing. Ask how to report a positive pregnancy test and any new symptoms.

Ask which lining-preparation plan is being used, when progesterone starts, what the embryo’s developmental stage is, and when the pregnancy test should be taken. You can also ask which symptoms are expected, which medicines are suitable, and when an early pregnancy scan is planned.