The two-week wait: 13 practical things to know after embryo transfer

Use the test date your clinic gives you

Your clinic gives you a date for your pregnancy test, and the NHS says to take your test on that date to get an accurate result. Clinics count differently: one does a test 14 days after embryo transfer, another a blood test two weeks after egg collection. That’s roughly where the name “two-week wait” comes from, but your clinic’s date is the one that counts.

Sources: HFEA, NHS, Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility Centre, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals

Testing early can give a false result

The HFEA advises against testing early, because you may get a false result. Pregnancy tests detect the hormone hCG, and the trigger injection you had before egg collection is a form of hCG. Gateshead’s fertility unit explains that an early result that seems to show a pregnancy may just be picking up that drug in your system.

Sources: HFEA, NHS, Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

An early negative can be wrong too

The NHS says a negative result is less reliable if you test too early, and that some medicines can affect results. Testing on your date avoids both problems.

Source: NHS

Follow your clinic’s testing method

Some clinics do a blood test on a set day and don’t use home test results to decide your care. Others ask you to do a urine test at home on your test date. Gateshead says it’s important the test is done on the allocated day.

Sources: Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Saint Mary’s)

Carry on with your medicines until your clinic says otherwise

Clinics ask you not to stop any of your medicines until they tell you to. Cambridge asks you not to stop anything it prescribed without talking to the team first. Saint Mary’s in Manchester says that if your period doesn’t come, keep taking your medicines and still do your test on the date the nurses gave you.

Sources: Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Saint Mary’s), Cambridge University Hospitals

Bleeding or cramps can’t tell you the result

Saint Mary’s says these symptoms can go with implantation or with the start of a period. Gateshead says bleeding doesn’t always mean treatment hasn’t worked. Either way, carry on with your medicines, test on your date, and ring your clinic if you’re worried.

Sources: Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Saint Mary’s), Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

Save your clinic’s numbers, and know where to get help

Save your clinic’s daytime and out-of-hours numbers somewhere easy to find. Gateshead invites you to contact the unit with any questions or concerns during the wait. For urgent worries, the NHS IVF page explains when to contact your clinic or NHS 111, and when to call 999.

Sources: Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, NHS

You don’t need bed rest

NICE says bed rest of more than 20 minutes after embryo transfer doesn’t improve the outcome of IVF. Follow your own clinic’s advice on exercise and work. Saint Mary’s, for example, advises living normally but avoiding strenuous exercise for two weeks.

Sources: NICE, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Saint Mary’s)

Feeling anxious isn’t something you’re doing wrong

The HFEA says there’s no conclusive evidence that stress affects the outcome of fertility treatment. However you feel during the wait is allowed.

Source: HFEA

Counselling is for the wait too

Licensed clinics must provide counselling throughout treatment, and afterwards if you ask. NICE says it should be offered before, during and after treatment. Some clinics offer a call from a counsellor during the wait, as Saint Mary’s does. Ask what yours offers, and whether there’s a charge.

If you’d like to see someone privately, BICA, the British Infertility Counselling Association, lists infertility counsellors, including online and by phone.

Sources: HFEA (11), NICE, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Saint Mary’s), HFEA (10), BICA

Talk to people who’ve been there

Fertility Action runs weekly online peer-support groups, including ones for people trying to conceive and for people newer to treatment. The Fertility Alliance offers groups and one-to-one support by call-back or email. Both are contacted by email. Fertility Action says its groups are peer support, not a replacement for therapy.

Fertility Network UK, which some websites still list, has closed and no longer offers support.

Sources: Fertility Action, The Fertility Alliance, Fertility Network UK

If it all feels too much

Samaritans are there on 116 123, free from landlines and mobiles, any time of day or night, whatever you want to talk about. Your clinic’s nurses and counsellor are there for anything about your treatment.

Source: Samaritans

Tell your clinic your result, whatever it is

Clinics ask you to tell them your result even if the test is negative, so they can plan what happens next. Only stop medicines when your clinic tells you to.

If the test is negative, the NHS says to give yourself time to recover and make sure you have plenty of support. When you’re ready, our page on what to ask after an unsuccessful cycle may help.

Sources: Cambridge University Hospitals, HFEA, NHS