Preparing For Embryo Transfer

by RN
(USA)

I am 40 yrs old and my wife is 34. We have one daughter that is 8 years old. My wife has a unicorn uterus and a rudimentary horn. Our second child was growing in the horn and lead to a rupture at 20 weeks in 2005, leading to the removal of the horn and the connecting tube.

After that in 2008 she got pregnant again but it turned out to be a cornual ectopic and was stopped with methatrexate.

In 2011 she became pregnant again but it turned out to be ectopic and lost the only left tube crushing all our hopes. So at end of 2011 we went for IVF got good response and embryos.

She became pregnant with single embryo transferred. It was going good until she got spotting around 5 weeks, but there was a nice heartbeat detected at 6 weeks, but the bleeding got worse. She had eaten a dish made from fenugreek the day spotting started. Wonder if it had anything to do with that as I found that fenugreek herb(also called methi) is a uterine stimulant.

Hormone levels were good. Unfortunately at 7 weeks during the visit we found that the heart beat was missing and the demise of the foetus.

Doctor did D&E after that. We are devasted after all these incidents.

Please let me know how if there is hope for us and how to proceed next if we are doing a frozen embryo transfer.

Answer:

I am sorry to hear that you and your wife had to go through so much grief.

In order to prepare for a frozen embryo transfer the most important aspect is to prepare the uterus to facilitate healthy implantation and to carry the embryo to term.

Consider taking a minimum period of 4 months to prepare. This is a step-by-step plan of important things your wife can do in order to increase her chances of having a successful embryo transfer.

Before Embryo Transfer

1. Eliminate Harmful Toxins

It is important to eliminate toxins from the body that can be present in the mother and affect embryo development. It is recommended to follow The Fertility Cleanse for 2 months.


2. Increase Blood Circulation To The Uterus

Castor oil Therapy and Self-fertility Massage are the best ways to increase blood circulation to the uterus and increase the health of the uterine lining. These therapies should be followed each day or every other day from day 5 ( or after the menstrual cycle is over) until day 28 (or up until the periods come) for at least 2 months.

3. Fertility Diet

It is very important to follow the guidelines of the Fertility Diet before, during and after embryo transfer and continue throughout the entire pregnancy and post-partum.

4. Natural Supplements

1. Prenatal Multivitamins: To make sure the mother’s body has all of the nutrients necessary to support a healthy pregnancy, begin taking prenatal multivitamins with folic acid (800 mcg a day).

2. Anti-oxidants: To help protect the embryo from free radical damage. Free radicals damage both cell health and the cell’s DNA increasing the risk of mutations. By taking network anti-oxidants, specifically designed to protect embryo DNA integrity and prevent birth defects and miscarriage.

3. L-arginine is an amino acid that helps endometrial receptivity. Studies have shown how high doses of L-arginine supplementation increases pregnancy rates in IVF patients by preparing the uterus for embryo implantation.

5. Acupuncture

Many studies have shown how acupuncture treatments help increase success rate of IVF treatments because acupuncture helps increase blood circulation to the reproductive organs and helps balance the hormonal system. Begin taking acupuncture treatments at least two months before embryo transfer to help increase uterine receptivity. The acupuncturist should be experienced with working with women who are going through embryo transfer.

During Embryo Transfer

1. Continue with the fertility diet and regular acupuncture treatments.

2. Stop doing castor oil therapy and self-fertility massage.

3. To increase a sense of relaxation, listen to The Mind-Body program For IVF. Studies have shown hoe guided meditation and visualization helps women who are going through embryo transfer increase the odds of success.

4. Natural progesterone cream application is often recommended during the first trimester of pregnancy after embryo tranfer(talk to you endocrinologist about this).

5. Continue taking natural supplements (prenatal vitamins, L-arginine and anti-oxidants), but double check with your endocrinologist.

I hope your embryo transfer will be successful and that you and your wife will soon be able to welcome a new baby into your family.

Fertility Blessings!