Is IVF Painful? | Fertility Center of San Antonio (2024)

FAQs

Is IVF Painful? | Fertility Center of San Antonio? ›

Many women wonder if any stages of the IVF process are painful. At Fertility Center of San Antonio, we find that some women experience cramps and abdominal pressure during the various phases of IVF.

All injections can elicit a slight but temporary stinging sensation. This is often the most pain you will feel during this phase of the IVF process. However, at ELITE IVF, we understand that needles can make some individuals uncomfortable.

It also depends on the type of injection. Sub-cutaneous injections, made into the layer of fat between skin and muscle, are the simplest and least painful. Intramuscular injections, in which a longer needle is needed to deliver the medication directly into a muscle, can be more painful for some, but not intensely so.

Many people describe the 10-14 day waiting period between embryo transfer and pregnancy test as the most difficult part of the cycle. This is a time when your hopes are high, and so are your fears. After several weeks of daily injections, medical appointments and procedures, the waiting can feel intolerable.

Among these, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and multiple pregnancies are the most serious. Other potential risks include increased levels of anxiety and depression, ovarian torsion, ectopic pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, placenta praevia, placental separation and increased risk of cesarean section.

Feelings of stress or frustration –

Fertility treatments can be stressful for some patients and can be frustrating if you are physically feeling the effects of your medications. Utilizing stress relieving practices like light yoga, meditation, or acupuncture can help alleviate anxieties.

IVF can be mentally, physically and emotionally painful. In many cases, one of the biggest complaints is bloating and pain some women face during the ovarian stimulation process, where hormones are injected to produce multiple eggs for retrieval.

One tip for helping with IVF shots is to use either cold or heat. Some patients find that either ice or hot packs can help to reduce pain or swelling at the injection sites. Numbing the area with ice beforehand can help with subcutaneous shots (which go into fatty tissue between the skin and the muscle).

Most fertility specialists believe that in more than 95% of IVF failures it is due to arrest of the embryos. Embryonic arrest is quite often due to chromosomal or other genetic abnormalities in those embryos that made them too “weak” to continue normal development and sustained implantation.

You'll be under sedation, so you won't feel a thing during the procedure. The anesthesiologist will use a propofol-based anesthesia—not a general anesthesia, but rather an intravenous sedation medication—to ensure you feel no pain or discomfort during the egg retrieval process.

What are the dark side of IVF? ›

Conceiving with IVF does carry an increased risk of pregnancy complications. In particular, there is an increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, hypertension, maternal gestational diabetes, and placental complications⁷.

All the hormone shots involved with IVF mean that you'll have lots more hormones than normal coursing through your body. That might leave you irritable, bloated, or even turned on. “As you're hormonal, you may feel like you want to have sex,” Eyvazzadeh explains.

How long does IVF take? An IVF cycle typically takes around 6-8 weeks. The process includes an initial consultation, ovarian stimulation that lasts 8-14 days, egg retrieval, fertilisation, embryo transfer, and a pregnancy test. The embryo transfer and pregnancy test are typically performed 5 days after fertilisation.

Who is not a good candidate for IVF? In vitro fertilization may not work for everyone. Conditions that may interfere with IVF success include fibroid tumors, ovarian dysfunction, abnormal hormone levels, and uterine abnormalities. Women with these issues may face lower rates of pregnancy with IVF.

The answer is yes, but it's complicated. Most of the children born from IVF appear healthy. We have noticed a small increase in health problems, such as low birth weight, premature birth and congenital birth defects. Some of these long-term health effects may be encoded by epigenetics.

It is rare to experience any pain during IVF injections. There is a slight stinging sensation on needle insertion, but it is not too bothersome. Does embryo transfer hurt? It is common for women to experience cramps during embryo transfer, just as they do during their monthly cycles.

Embryo Transfer – Some believe the embryo transfer process is the most critical step in the entire process of IVF treatments. The health of embryos and successful implant in the uterus depend on a flawless transfer. Any snag with timing or biological factors can be detrimental to the process.

Many women become nervous if they experience cramping or abdominal pain during IVF treatment, specifically after the embryo transfer. Cramping is a common side effect in the days leading up to a woman's period, so it's normal to wonder if cramps mean that IVF treatment has been unsuccessful.

If you have IVF, you have a slightly higher risk of having an ectopic pregnancy, where the embryo implants in a fallopian tube rather than in the womb. This can cause pain in the tummy, followed by vagin*l bleeding or dark vagin*l discharge.