What will my pregnancy look like after IVF?
If you are pregnant after IVF (firstly, a big congratulations) then you may be wondering what your pregnant will look like. Here obstetrician Victoria Medland explores what your may pregnancy look like after IVF. From extra scans to if you may be advised an induction.
IVF pregnancy is a pregnancy resulting in fertility treatment. Namely, having eggs removed and fertilised outside of the body, then replaced, usually on day 3 or 5. This may be necessary for a number of reasons. These can include reduced ability of sperm, previous vasectomy, previous treatment in either partner for cancer, hormonal conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, or perhaps the natural decline in quality of eggs that occurs with age.
Pregnancy after IVF: No One-Size-Fits-All
Because of all the reasons above, it is difficult to make a guideline that fits all of these circumstances. All treatment offered should be individualised. Understandably there may be an increased level of anxiety in prospective parents after a potentially difficult journey to achieving pregnancy. The offers of increased surveillance from antenatal clinic often reflect that.
Handover from Fertility Centre to Antenatal Clinic
It is not uncommon for people to receive fertility treatment at a centre that is not local to the hospital where they book a pregnancy. This is especially common if you have paid privately to have IVF. For that reason it is important there is a thorough handover of care from the fertility centre to the antenatal clinic. This should include whether the cause of subfertility was due to a definite diagnosis, or was unexplained. And whether you had a fresh or frozen cycle, how many embryos were put back, and whether there were any complications of IVF such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
It’s also important to know which drugs you’re prescribed, and how long into the pregnancy you should take them. For instance, you may have been prescribed some progesterone support for the 1st trimester. You should be offered first trimester combined screening at the same time as your dating scan as would anyone else in the UK.
Obstetrician Appointment
Following your dating scan, an obstetrician is likely to see you in antenatal clinic. Should your dating scan differ from your due date as calculated by your IVF, it is worth discussing this with your obstetrician. There is clearly certainty over the date at which you became pregnant! If you have twins or triplets you will be referred to a specialist antenatal clinic specifically for the care of multiple pregnancies. These are more common after fertility treatment.
Can there be any complications in a pregnancy conceived through IVF?
There is a slightly higher chance of structural problems with how the baby is formed after IVF. This is over and above the background chances of this happening (most commonly heart conditions). For this reason it is recommended that you have both the dating scan and anomaly scan. The dating scan assesses the structures of the baby visible at this time (around 12 weeks). The anomaly scan at around 20 weeks assesses the structures of the baby in more detail.
Your obstetrician will explore your health in the past and during this pregnancy. At that point it may become clear that, for instance, you should be offered early induction due to your age, or a pre-existing health condition. However in a healthy IVF pregnancy there may be no reason to offer interventions such as induction unless additional maternal or fetal conditions become apparent.
So this is actually quite a short one! There’s no lengthy national guideline to discuss. Do refer to your local hospital as many have local policies to which you can refer.
