IVF Tips and Advice for a Successful IVF Cycle

IVF can be a long, emotional journey. It can be draining emotionally, physically, and financially. When I first started my IVF Journey, I was filled with all kinds of questions and emotions.

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“What can I do increase IVF Success?”

However, there are some things you can do to prepare yourself if you’re about to do IVF. Having gone through one IVF cycle, the number one question I get asked on Instagram is to share my tips and advice with other women who are about to go through IVF.

Take Prenatal Vitamins

It’s super important to be taking a prenatal vitamin before you get pregnant. Vitamins can take up to 3 months to take affect into your system and prenatals are super important to have in your body. It’s important to have those important nutrients, like folic acid, so your soon-to-be embryo can start being nourished right away and your body is prepared to take and hold onto that pregnancy.

Find a good prenatal vitamin that contains Folate (a more pure form of folic acid) in it. My two favorites are the SmartyPants Prenatal Gummies and the Nature Made Prenatal + DHA (I’ve switched to this one since becoming pregnant after our embryo transfer for the DHA)

Stop Drinking and Smoking

This one is kind of a “no-brainer” but alcohol absolutely hinders your fertility. It can lower sperm count and affect egg health. Smoking as well.

If you are about to go through IVF – stop drinking and smoking. The sooner you do it before treatment, the better!

Reduce Stress

I know… this one is WAY easier said than done – but stress is the “silent killer”. If you’re carrying a lot of stress, especially during IVF or fertility treatments, your body won’t be open to responding to the medication to produce follicles or even reject the embryo at transfer.

My favorite ways to reduce stress? Walking outside, meditating, and… well, sex. Being intimate with your partner releases “happy hormones” and has been shown to reduce stress. So get down and dirty and forget about making a baby the “normal way”. After all, your partner is probably stressed about it, too!

BUT I also meditated during our IVF process. I used a program from Circle + Bloom that created a guided meditation specifically for IUI and IVF! I really loved this program because it helped me escape and visualize our IVF journey and becoming pregnant. Check out the IVF Meditation program if you’re into meditating and need some relaxation!

Exercise and/or Lose Weight

Believe it or not, I actually lost 40lbs 3-months before we started IVF. I exercised daily (to help with the stress levels) and maintained a calorie deficit in my diet.

Walking and light exercise daily helps with mental health and other added benefits.

Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water helps remove toxins from the body, make sure your organs are functioning properly, and helps improve your fertility. Plus, being hydrated helps the hormones and medication disperse evenly throughout the body.

If you’re doing an embryo transfer – being hydrated helps keep the uterus happy and squishy and welcoming for the embryo to implant and grow!

Eat a Friendly Fertility Diet

There are plenty of foods out there that will help boost your fertility. Obviously, eating a well-balanced diet is recommended for everyday life, but there are certain foods that will help raise you and your partners fertility with benefits like egg health, uterine lining, sperm count and motility, and hormone regulation.

Eggs
Various Nuts
Leafy Greens (Spinach, Kale, Etc.)
Berries (Raspberries, Strawberries, and Blueberries)
Salmon (Omega-3 Fatty Acids)
Avocado
Pomegranate Juice
Pineapple

Take IVF Medication On Time

Some medication in IVF is time-sensitive or needs to be taken at the same time every day. Make sure you schedule your medication to where you can take it without question (meaning a time where you know you’ll be home).

Some medication, such as the trigger shot, needs to be taken at a specific time as instructed by your doctor.

Always be on time with your medication!

Prepare For How Much Time IVF Needs

IVF is like a part-time job. It comes with a ton of monitoring appointments and lots of medication to schedule and keep up with. The end result is worth it, I promise!

Be prepared for driving a lot to the clinic, waiting times, countless appointments, and more. Eventually, I even had to go in for daily appointments to my clinic for monitoring before my egg retrieval. My clinic is an hour away… so that was a lot of driving!