August 26: Fertility Health Checks 
There is now research that finally dispels the old wives tale that bed rest post embryo transfer will make a difference to the outcome.
At Fertility Solutions, we often get asked by our patients if lying down for 10, 15, 30 minutes or longer after their embryo transfer will improve their chances of a pregnancy. We provide our patients with evidence-based care and as such, we inform our patients that based on research, there is no evidence that resting after the transfer increases the chance of a pregnancy. Having said that, we are happy to accommodate a patient’s wishes should they choose to rest for a little while after their transfer; however, we make them aware that it has not been shown to increase the chance of a pregnancy.
We are aware that some IVF clinics encourage patients to lie down after their transfer and some even offer their patients brandy, but we need to be careful of the hidden messages that are being sent to patients. Doesn’t this suggest to the patient that it is necessary to rest after the embryo transfer, so it will be successful?
The research was conducted on 240 women, half of them (120) stayed in bed for 10 minutes after the embryo(s) was transferred whilst the other half, (120) got up and walked out of the room. The results showed that pregnancy rates were similar in both groups with 50 women in the bed rest group going on to have a baby and 68 women in the “get up and go” group delivered a baby – perhaps suggesting that “getting up and going” actually may aid in a successful embryo transfer.
Other research also highlights that bed rest does not increase your chance of a pregnancy:
As health professionals, we owe it to our patients to provide them with evidence-based information and now there is recent research that further supports previous findings – that resting for any period of time after an embryo transfer does not help.
For more information and to read the complete report of this new study please go to: https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE95R10620130628
You might also enjoy reading about a few other IVF myths.