A collection of tips and readings

Changes due to taking a meal at the wrong time of day or bringing material to the lab too late may affect the test results or prevent the scheduled procedure from being performed. We recommend that you review the following instructions before proceeding with diagnostics:

Urinalysis

• Pass 20-30 ml of urine from the first stream into a sterile urine container

• Deliver to the point of collection within 2-3 hours of collection

Swab collection

• Refrain from sexual intercourse and limit genital hygiene and cleansing procedures for 24 hours before the test.

• Patients should not be swabbed during menstrual periods.

• Do not use any vaginal medications or external ointments for 24 hours prior to swabbing.

• Take a 7-day break after antimicrobial treatment

• Take 1 day off after a gynaecological examination or ultrasound

• For urethral swabs, it is best to collect the specimen in the morning, after overnight, before urination, or at least 1-3 hours after the last urine output.

Before surgery under general anaesthesia

• You may not drink or eat for a minimum of 6 hours before the procedure. You may consume food and drinks the day before the procedure and in the evening.

• If your surgery is in the afternoon, you may have a light breakfast, but no later than 7:00 am.

• If you usually take your medication at breakfast, ask what to do on the day of surgery.

• Do not use any deodorant, perfume, or cleaning products with strong scents on the day of treatment.

• After general anaesthesia, judgment and reactions may be weaker than usual for some time. It is very important that both in the following 24 hours and also until pain medication is discontinued:

  • Do not drink alcohol.

  • Do not take sleeping pills.

  • Do not drive a car or ride a bicycle.

  • Do not use any mechanical appliances, and do not cook on a gas stove.

  • Do not make important decisions.

  • Do not sign any legal documents.

  • Do not do anything that could be dangerous to your own health or to those around you.

• Many patients experience some temporary discomfort after anaesthesia, such as:

  • Loss of appetite

  • General tiredness

  • Dizziness

  • Headache

  • Nausea

  • Sore throat

  • Muscle pain

  • Pressure and/or soreness at injection sites

  The discomfort is usually not very severe and passes after 1 to 2 days.

• After block anaesthesia, post-puncture headaches may sometimes occur, which, in exceptional cases, can last from several hours to several days.

• Leaving the clinic after the procedure under general anaesthesia is possible only when accompanied by a companion!

The supreme document describing patient rights is the Patient's Charter of Rights. This is a set of regulations derived from various acts (including the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Act of December 5, 1996 on the medical and dental professions), which specify a set of rights of every Polish patient, including the right to intimacy and respect for personal dignity in the course of medical services. The current text of the Charter of Patients' Rights can be found on the website of the Ministry of Health.

In addition, as a clinic taking into account the needs of patients, in our centres, we follow the standards prepared by the Association for Infertility Treatment and Adoption Support NASZ BOCIAN. These standards, created as a result of broad social consultations with infertile patients, gather the most important expectations and express the social voice of patients.

At TFP clinics, we ensure that:

• Every patient has the right to receive understandable information about his or her condition and recommended medical treatment.

• Each patient has the right to choose the type of therapy based on their individual needs and medical condition.

• Every patient has the right to refuse therapy.

• Every patient has the right to be treated in accordance with current medical knowledge and should be treated in accordance with the standards of the Polish Gynecological Society, the Polish Society of Reproductive Medicine and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

• Every patient has the right to respect for his or her intimacy and to be respected for the treatment decisions he or she has made.

• Every patient has the right to have his or her dignity respected without regard to ethnicity, nationality, race, medical condition, age, genetic condition, beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital status.

• Your medical records will be released by the facility.

• For couples, infertility should always be viewed and communicated by staff as a couple's problem regardless of whether there was a male factor, a female factor, or both simultaneously.

Reference books and scientific literature

• Jean M.Twenge on how to get pregnant successfully. Chill out and become a mum. Vital Publishers, 2019

• Aleksandra Dembińska, Psychological aspects of women's struggle with infertility: The pendulum of hope. Published by Difin, 2018

• Sylwia Leszczyńska, Diet for fertility. Published by Zwierciadło Sp. z o.o., 2017

• Anna Krawczak, In vitro. Without fear, without ideology. Published by Muza, 2016

• Joanna Kwaśniewska, Justyna Kuczmierowska, Agnieszka Doboszyńska, Nadzieja na nowe życie. A guide for those dreaming of a child. Znak Publishing House, 2015

• Sylwia Leszczyńska, Dieta dla fertodności, Zwierciadło, 2017

• Magdalena Radkowska-Walkowicz, Experience in vitro. University of Warsaw Publishing House, 2013

• Jerzy Radwan, Sławomir Wołczyński (eds.), Infertility and assisted reproduction. Termedia Wydawnictwa medyczne, 2011

• Piotr Pierzyński, Zajść w ciążę. Guide for couples planning family enlargement and already trying for pregnancy. CMR Publishing House, 2011

• Wojciech Zacharek (ed.), Drogi ku płodności. Zacharek Publishing House, 2011

• Judith C. Daniluk, Infertility Survival School. Helion Publishing House, 2010

Fiction

• Małgorzata Rozenek-Majdan, In vitro. Rozmowy intymne. Published by Prószyński Media Sp. z o.o., 2019

• Michelle Obama, Becoming. My story. Agora Publishers, 2019

• Anita Miller, Why don't you want to have a baby? Novae Res Publishers, 2019

• Agnieszka Mans, Loneliness in infertility. Ridero Publishers, 2017

• Kamil Bałuk, All the children of Louis. Published by the Reportage Institute Foundation, 2017

• Barbara Sęk, Love on glass. World Book Publishing, 2015

• Bogda Pawelec, In vitro. Important conversations on a difficult subject. Foksal Publishing Group, 2015

• Karolina Domagalska, I'm not sorry that I gave birth. Stories of families with in vitro. Black Publishers, 2015;

• Agnieszka Walczak-Chojecka, When the Leaves Bloom. A story about a woman who wants too much. Published by Filia, 2014

• Dagmara Weinkiper-Halsing, In vitro glass child my way to happiness. Published by E Media, 2012;

• Monika Orłowska, Silence under the heart. Published by Replika, 2011

• Magdalena Wojaczek (ed.), Angel Mums. Stories of women who miscarried. Advice from experts. M Publishing House, 2009

• Bogda Pawelec, Therapeutic stories of infertility. Waiting for the stork. JK Publishing House, 2007

• Sinead Moriarty, The Way to Have a Baby. Publishers World Book, 2007

• Sinead Moriarty, Emma wants a baby. Published by Świat Książki, 2005

Scientific publications

• Infertility diagnosis and treatment - recommendations of the Polish Society of Reproductive Medicine and Embryology (PTMRiE) and the Polish Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (PTGP)2018

• Infertility and assisted reproduction, edited by Jerzy Radwan and Sławomir Wołczyński, Termedia Publishers

• Diagnostic and treatment algorithms in infertility, edited by Slawomir Wolczynski and Michal Radwan, Institute of Occupational Medicine

• Infertility. Zagadnienie interdyscyplinarne, edited by Emilia Lichtenberg-Kokoszka, Oficyna Wydawnicza IMPULS