By Dr Joseph Akintujoye | Lilyfields Medical Center
Two lines. Or perhaps a phone call confirming your blood test is positive.
After the injections, appointments, embryo transfer and those very long days of waiting, this is the news you have been hoping for.
Then another thought arrives: “What do I do now? Should I stay in bed? Can I have sex? Do I still need all these medicines?”
Take a breath. You do not have to work everything out today. Here is how to approach the next stage, one step at a time.
First, tell your fertility team
Let the clinic that performed your transfer know your result, even if you feel completely well. They will explain whether you need a blood pregnancy-hormone test, further monitoring and an early ultrasound, commonly around six to seven weeks of pregnancy.
A positive test is an encouraging milestone. The scan will help establish where the pregnancy is developing and, at the appropriate stage, assess its progress and heartbeat. A test alone cannot confirm all of these things. Source: Guy’s and St Thomas’ IVF aftercare.
Before you finish that conversation, ask: “Which medicines do I continue, when is my next appointment, and who do I contact if I am worried?”
Yes, your luteal support still matters
“Luteal support” sounds technical. It usually means progesterone treatment to support the womb lining and early pregnancy. Depending on your treatment cycle, you may also have been prescribed oestrogen.
Do not stop or reduce these medicines because your pregnancy test is positive. Continue the exact dose and schedule your fertility team prescribed.
Treatment plans differ between fresh transfers and different frozen-transfer cycles. Your friend’s stopping date may be different from yours. Ask your own team for a clear plan, including what to do if you miss a dose; do not automatically double the next one. Source: Gateshead Health’s frozen-transfer medication guidance.
Phone reminders and a simple medicine checklist can make this part of the day feel more manageable.
Rest when you need to. Routine bed rest is unnecessary
It is understandable to want to protect this pregnancy by doing as little as possible.
But routine bed rest after embryo transfer has not been shown to improve pregnancy outcomes. Getting up to use the toilet, walking around your home or doing ordinary gentle activities will not make the embryo fall out. Source: ASRM’s embryo-transfer guideline.
Give yourself permission to sleep, take breaks and accept help with tiring chores. If you feel well and your clinic has given no specific restrictions, gentle walking is usually reasonable.
Ask before returning to strenuous workouts, heavy lifting or activities involving jumping and twisting, particularly after ovarian stimulation. Enlarged ovaries or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome—OHSS—need individual advice about activity. Source: RCOG’s OHSS guidance.
Keep water and fibre on your side
Constipation can arrive surprisingly early in pregnancy. Hormonal changes and some supplements, including iron, can contribute.
Drink water regularly through the day. Add fibre gradually through foods such as oats, beans, wholemeal bread, vegetables and thoroughly washed fruit. Gentle movement can help too.
If constipation persists, ask your clinician or pharmacist about a pregnancy-safe treatment. Do not stop prescribed iron on your own; your team may suggest a different preparation. Source: NHS advice on constipation in pregnancy.
There is no need to force enormous amounts of water. Follow any fluid advice your fertility team gives you, especially if you have OHSS.
What about sex?
This question deserves a clear, comfortable conversation.
Sex does not cause miscarriage in an uncomplicated pregnancy. However, after IVF, your clinic may advise temporary restrictions because of bleeding, pain, enlarged ovaries or another concern. Ask your team when it is appropriate for you to resume intercourse, and follow any pelvic-rest instructions. Sources: NHS pregnancy and sex guidance and RCOG’s OHSS guidance.
You are also allowed simply not to feel ready. Holding hands, cuddling and spending quiet time together can offer closeness without pressure.
Eat well, without turning every meal into an examination
You do not need an expensive “IVF pregnancy diet.” Familiar, balanced meals can be comforting and practical: beans, vegetables, whole grains and well-cooked protein, for example.
For food safety:
- Avoid raw or undercooked meat, fish and shellfish. Cook eggs until both white and yolk are firm.
- Choose pasteurised dairy. Cook cold-smoked fish and cured meats until steaming hot.
- Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly; refrigerate perishable foods promptly and observe use-by dates.
- Avoid liver, liver products and high-mercury fish such as shark, swordfish and marlin.
- Avoid alcohol. Keep total caffeine to 200 mg a day or less, counting coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks and chocolate.
These precautions help reduce avoidable food-related risks. Source: NHS foods-to-avoid guidance.
Ask your team to confirm your folic acid and prenatal supplement plan. Avoid supplements containing vitamin A as retinol unless specifically advised. Source: NHS pregnancy vitamins guidance.
Check before taking any extra medicine
Use medicines your treating team has prescribed or confirmed are suitable for you. That includes checking ordinary pharmacy medicines, vitamins and herbal products.
Do not add aspirin, antibiotics, hormone injections, herbal mixtures or “pregnancy boosters” because someone else used them. “Natural” does not automatically mean safe in pregnancy.
If you already take medicine for a long-term condition, do not stop it abruptly. Arrange a review with your doctor so your health and the pregnancy are both considered. Source: NHS medicines-in-pregnancy guidance.
Let your partner support you—not monitor your every emotion
Support can be wonderfully ordinary: preparing a meal, collecting prescriptions, sharing chores, accompanying you to appointments or listening when you need to talk.
Partners, try asking: “What would help you today?” Sometimes the answer will be practical help. Sometimes it will be company. Sometimes it will be a little space.
If you are going through treatment without a partner, a trusted friend, relative or fertility counsellor can be part of your support circle.
And those “good hormones”?
Music, laughter, prayer if it comforts you, enjoyable activities and time with people you trust can help you feel supported. Make room for them.
But describing pregnancy as a contest between “good hormones” and “stress hormones” can create unnecessary guilt. Ordinary worry, a difficult day or a cry has not been shown to cause miscarriage. Feeling happy is not a treatment or a guarantee that a pregnancy will continue. Source: Royal United Hospitals Bath’s early-pregnancy information.
You do not have to stay happy every moment to deserve a healthy pregnancy.
If anxiety is affecting your sleep or daily life, tell your team. You deserve support with that too. Source: NHS anxiety-in-pregnancy guidance.
Know when to get help
Seek urgent medical assessment for severe or one-sided abdominal pain, shoulder-tip pain, fainting, heavy bleeding, chest pain or difficulty breathing. An ectopic pregnancy remains possible after IVF; do not wait for your planned scan if you have concerning symptoms. Source: NHS ectopic-pregnancy guidance.
After a stimulated cycle, worsening abdominal swelling or pain, persistent vomiting or passing much less urine needs urgent contact with your fertility team. OHSS can worsen when pregnancy occurs. Source: RCOG’s OHSS guidance.
Report lighter bleeding or other worrying symptoms to your clinic as well. You do not need to decide alone whether something is important.
One appointment, one day at a time
For today, keep taking your prescribed medicines, confirm your follow-up plan, eat and drink regularly, and allow yourself some support.
You can welcome this news and still feel nervous about what comes next. Both feelings can sit together.
Positive pregnancy test after embryo transfer? Contact your treating fertility team to confirm your medication plan and early scan. For further guidance, book a consultation with Lilyfields Medical Center.
This article provides general information. Your treating fertility team’s personalised advice should guide your care.
