What should you know about schedule for frozen embryo transfer?

Your clinic may use a natural cycle, a hormone-prepared cycle, or another plan suited to your menstrual pattern and medical history. Monitoring can include appointments, blood tests, and ultrasound to assess the lining and identify the time for transfer. In a hormone-prepared cycle, progesterone is started at a carefully selected point; the transfer date is then matched to how many days the embryo has developed.

The transfer itself is usually planned as a separate appointment. The embryo is placed into the uterus through a thin catheter. Your clinic will give exact instructions because the timing of medicines and appointments is specific to the embryo and the protocol.

Ask for a written calendar showing scans, blood tests, medicine start dates, transfer day, and the pregnancy test. Take medicines exactly as prescribed and tell the clinic promptly if you miss a dose, start bleeding, or cannot attend monitoring. Micronised Progesterone may be part of the medication plan; do not change its route or timing without advice.

On transfer day, follow instructions about arriving, bladder preparation, food, and travel. Afterward, continue the prescribed plan until your clinic tells you what to do next.

Contact the fertility team urgently for severe pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, fainting, breathing difficulty, or a marked increase in abdominal swelling. Report fever, unpleasant-smelling discharge, or symptoms that worry you after the transfer. A small amount of spotting can have several explanations, so ask the clinic how it wants you to report it.

Which cycle plan are we using, and what determines the transfer date? When do I start progesterone? What should I do if I miss a dose or bleed? When is the pregnancy test, and which medicines continue while I wait?