How do I fit in IVF treatment as a working woman?

Before you start treatment, you and your partner will need to attend the clinic for a pre-treatment appointment. This is where you'll sign the consent forms, review all the medication, and plan a treatment schedule. The required blood screening tests are also usually done at this appointment for both partners.

The pre-treatment appointment usually lasts one and a half hours, and both you and your partner need to attend. After this appointment, your partner does not need to attend the clinic until the day of the egg collection.

After the pre-treatment appointment, you will be asked to call on the first day of your period. This is when your appointments for the treatment are arranged.

At TFP Fertility, we use a patient portal where you can easily view your appointments and medication information on your phone or other device. We can send you messages and reminders via the portal.

The nursing team will confirm when you will start the injections that stimulate your ovaries. You may experience mild side effects, but most people feel no different and continue to work as normal.

During this period, you will need to visit the clinic for scans to monitor the development of your follicles. You may need to come in two to three times for these quick, 10-minute appointments, and we will do our best to accommodate your work schedule.

We typically conduct scans early in the morning, allowing many individuals to go straight to work afterwards. While there may be some side effects from the medication, most people do not experience these and can continue their normal lives throughout the treatment.

Most people are ready for their egg collection after 12-14 days of injections. You will need to take a day off from work to recover. The procedure is performed under sedation so you won't experience any discomfort or pain. You will typically be able to go home within a couple of hours. While some individuals may feel the need to take the following day off from work, others may choose to return right away.

The embryo transfer happens on day five following the egg collection, although in some cases suitable embryos are frozen, and the transfer is arranged at a later date. The embryo transfer is a very simple procedure, similar to a smear test. You are not given any medication but may wish to take it easy the rest of the day. You then wait for almost two weeks before a pregnancy test can be done. You can return to work and carry on as normal, avoiding any heavy lifting or strenuous exercise.