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When you are pursuing fertility treatments – particularly IVF – there is nothing more nerve wracking than the two week wait between implantation and the first pregnancy test. It can feel like the longest two weeks of your life. Rather than drive yourself – and those around you – absolutely bonkers, we recommend making your own version of a Survival Guide.
You Can Survive the Two Week Wait
The two weeks that follow your IVF embryo transfer can be killers – and all of the emotions they bring up, like nervousness, anxiety and stress, aren’t good for you or your potentially-attaching embryo.
The following five tactics have been tried, tested and approved by a wide spectrum of our clients, so we thought we’d pass their tips, tricks and tactics on to you.
Be selective
Sometimes, the excitement of an upcoming IVF cycle brings on a euphoria, which makes even the most taciturn of women become blabbermouths to anyone who will listen. It IS an exciting time, but be careful about who you share your IVF cycle dates with. Many couples require at least two cycles to achieve a successful pregnancy. Keeping that in mind, if you don’t get pregnant this time– limiting who you tell also limits the number of people you’ll have to answer to if the embryo(s) doesn’t successfully implant. If you can’t stand it, and your family and friends are your compadres along the infertility journey, consider making a “no news is bad news” policy with them.
Schedule an acupuncture appointment.
There has been a correlation between acupuncture and IVF success across multiple medical studies. Before you schedule an appointment, check with your insurance carrier. In some cases, insurance companies cover all or a portion of a certain number of acupuncture sessions per year. Or, you can use funds from your health savings account (HSA) to cover some of the costs.
Take a week to treat yourself
Fill your post-transfer days with some of your very favorite – gentle – activities. Take walks out in nature and breathe deep, journal or work on those scrapbooks or other hobbies you’ve neglected lately, eat a well-balanced diet, get pedicures or take a restorative yoga class to help you de-stress, heal and focus on your body and your breathing.
Organize as if you’ve never organized before
Let’s face it, there are only so many good meals you can eat – and so many walks you can take – that first day of the two-week wait before you start to go stir crazy. Therefore, women find that embarking on The World’s Most Comprehensive Organization Project Ever is a great way to while away time and distract yourself as much as you can. Leave no drawer unscoured and no closet unsorted. Your local Good Will will thank you, and you and your partner will enjoy the de-cluttered and stress-free living space that results from your efforts.
Netflix like there’s no tomorrow.
Your mission for the next two weeks is to remain as stress and activity free as you can – within reason. And, you don’t really want to chitchat with all your friends and family because all you (and they) can think about is your IVF results. That means you have all kinds of free time to breeze through those Netflix TV shows you’ve been meaning to check out. Your Netflix extravaganza will be (almost) enough to make you wish the two weeks would never end.