Does Bed Rest Help After Embryo Transfer? Common Myths Your Clinic Wants You to Drop

The ceiling above the recovery bed has a water stain shaped like a comma. You know this because you have been staring at it for twenty minutes, afraid that if you sit up, the tiny cluster of cells that was placed inside you a moment ago will somehow slide back out. Your partner is scrolling a forum on their phone. Someone on it swears by three days flat on her back. Someone else says she walked home.

Almost everyone who goes through IVF meets this exact moment, and the question of bed rest after embryo transfer tends to arrive with more emotion than any other part of the process. You have spent weeks on injections, scans and waiting rooms. Now the one thing left feels like it is entirely up to you, and lying still looks like the safest way to protect it.

This article walks through what actually happens in the uterus after a transfer, what the research shows about resting, and why most clinics now ask patients to stop treating the sofa as a medical device.

What actually happens during an embryo transfer

An embryo transfer is the final step of in vitro fertilization (IVF), the process in which eggs are fertilized by sperm in a laboratory and the resulting embryo is placed in the uterus. According to the NHS, the transfer itself usually takes place a few days after egg collection, once the embryologists have watched the embryos develop and chosen the one, or occasionally two, most likely to continue growing.

You lie on an examination couch, much like a smear test. The clinician inserts a speculum, cleans the cervix (the narrow opening at the bottom of the uterus), and threads a soft, thin catheter through it. The catheter is a flexible tube only a couple of millimeters wide. An embryologist loads the embryo into the tip in a tiny drop of culture fluid, and the clinician releases it into the upper part of the uterine cavity, usually while watching on an abdominal ultrasound scan. The whole thing takes a few minutes and is typically painless, though a full bladder for the scan can make it uncomfortable.

Here is the detail that matters most for the bed rest question. The uterine cavity is not an open room. It is a potential space, a slit between two thick, velvety walls of endometrium (the lining of the uterus) that are pressed almost together. The embryo at this stage is smaller than a grain of salt and is deposited in a drop of fluid that spreads across those folds and is held there by surface tension. It is not floating in a pool that gravity can drain.

Many clinics ask you to lie down for a short period afterward, sometimes ten or fifteen minutes, mainly so you can gather yourself before standing. Mayo Clinic notes that after the procedure you can resume normal daily activities. That short pause is a courtesy, not a treatment.

Can the embryo fall out after transfer? The anatomy says no

This fear sits underneath almost every bed rest conversation, so it deserves a direct answer. An embryo cannot fall out of the uterus when you stand, walk, cough, sneeze, laugh, or use the toilet.

Think about how the uterus is built. The cervix, which the catheter passed through, is a firm muscular canal that closes again as soon as the catheter is withdrawn; it is designed to hold a growing pregnancy in place for nine months against far greater forces than standing up. Above it, the two walls of the uterine lining lie in contact with each other, cushioned and sticky with mucus and secretions. The embryo is tucked into that contact zone.

Studies that have placed harmless tracer droplets in the uterus during mock transfers and tracked them on ultrasound found that the droplet stays within the cavity regardless of whether the patient stands immediately or remains lying down. The fluid does not pour toward the cervix, because there is no open channel for it to pour through.

Where does the sensation of “something coming out” come from? Usually it is one of two things. The first is the ultrasound gel and the small amount of cleaning fluid used on the cervix, which can leak back out over the next hour or two. The second is vaginal discharge from progesterone support, a hormone commonly prescribed after transfer to help the lining stay receptive; vaginal preparations in particular can produce noticeable residue. Neither of these is the embryo.

It also helps to remember what happens in natural conception. A fertilized egg travels down the fallopian tube and arrives in the uterus while the person is walking, lifting toddlers, going to work, and sleeping in every position imaginable. Nobody tells people trying to conceive naturally to lie flat for three days afterward, because biology never required it.

Where the bed rest idea came from

Bed rest after embryo transfer was never based on a trial that showed it helped. It was inherited.

In the earliest days of IVF, in the late 1970s and 1980s, clinicians were working with a brand-new procedure, very low pregnancy rates, and no roadmap. Embryos were transferred at an earlier stage of development than is common today, and the catheters were stiffer. Caution was the only reasonable posture. Patients were often kept lying down for hours, sometimes overnight, on the theory that minimizing movement could only help and probably could not hurt.

That theory was borrowed from obstetrics, where bed rest had long been prescribed for threatened miscarriage and other complications. Over the following decades, obstetric bed rest itself was examined properly and found wanting for most of those uses; it does not prevent miscarriage and carries real downsides, including blood clots and deconditioning. Yet the IVF version lingered, partly because it felt intuitively right and partly because clinics had no incentive to change an instruction that patients found comforting.

Cultural factors also played a part. In some regions, the expectation of lying down for days after transfer became so embedded that families reorganized around it. Patients who were told they could go about their day sometimes felt their clinic was being careless, and clinics kept the advice to avoid that friction.

What changed was research. Starting in the late 1990s, teams began randomizing patients to different lengths of rest after transfer and comparing results. Once several of those trials existed, systematic reviews pooled them. The pattern that emerged is described in the next section, but the short version is that the comforting ritual turned out to have no measurable benefit, and the instruction began to shift from “stay flat” to “live normally.”

What the evidence says about bed rest after embryo transfer

Several randomized controlled trials have asked the same basic question: does lying down after transfer, for anywhere from a few minutes to a full day, change the chance of pregnancy compared with getting up right away? A randomized controlled trial is a study in which participants are assigned by chance to one approach or the other, which removes much of the bias that comes from people choosing for themselves.

The trials vary in size and design, but their findings point in a consistent direction. Short rest, long rest, and no rest produce no meaningful difference in implantation, clinical pregnancy or live birth. Systematic reviews that combine these trials, including a meta-analysis published in a major reproductive medicine journal, reached the same conclusion: bed rest offers no benefit. Some pooled analyses went further and found a signal, not conclusive but notable, that patients assigned to longer bed rest had slightly lower pregnancy rates than those who moved immediately.

Why might rest be unhelpful or even slightly counterproductive? Researchers have proposed a few mechanisms, none proven. Lying flat for long periods may increase anxiety and stress, since you have nothing to do but monitor every twinge. Immobility can reduce circulation. Prolonged lying with a full bladder may increase uterine contractions. These remain hypotheses, and it is important to say that the evidence does not show bed rest actively harms outcomes in a reliable way; it shows that it does not help.

How confident should you be in this? Reasonably confident. The quality of the individual trials is mixed, and the total number of participants is in the low thousands rather than tens of thousands. But every well-designed study points the same way, and no credible study has ever shown that rest improves results. Mayo Clinic’s patient guidance reflects this, advising a return to normal daily activity after transfer while avoiding vigorous activity because the ovaries may still be enlarged.

Activity after embryo transfer: what fertility teams typically advise

Once you accept that lying still does not help, the practical question becomes what a normal day should look like. Advice varies slightly between teams, and your own instructions always take priority, but the table below summarizes the common ground found in NHS and Mayo Clinic guidance and in standard fertility practice.

Activity	Typical guidance	Why
Walking, light errands, stairs	Fine from the day of transfer	No effect on implantation; keeps circulation moving
Desk work or working from home	Fine, often the same or next day	Distraction can ease the waiting period
Light housework, cooking	Fine	Everyday effort does not disturb the embryo
Gentle exercise such as yoga or swimming	Usually fine; check with your team	Mainly about comfort if ovaries are enlarged
Heavy lifting, high-impact sport, intense running	Commonly paused until the pregnancy test	Enlarged ovaries after stimulation can twist or be painful, not because of the embryo
Hot tubs, saunas, very hot baths	Often advised against	Caution about raised core temperature in early pregnancy
Sexual intercourse	Advice varies; ask your team	Some teams suggest a short pause, mostly for comfort and infection caution

Notice what the “why” column keeps saying. The restrictions that remain are almost all about the ovaries, not the uterus. During an IVF cycle, hormone injections stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs, and they can remain swollen and tender for a couple of weeks afterward. Vigorous bouncing or twisting movement can be painful and, rarely, can cause an enlarged ovary to rotate on its stalk, a condition called ovarian torsion that needs urgent care. That is the real reason to skip the spin class, and it is a good reason. It has nothing to do with gravity acting on an embryo.

Who is usually asked to rest more, and who is told to carry on

General advice is general. Your team may give you instructions that differ from everything written here, and when that happens, their instructions win. Still, it helps to understand the kinds of situations in which extra rest or extra caution is genuinely medical rather than ritual.

People at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) are the clearest example. OHSS is a complication of fertility drugs in which the ovaries over-respond, swell significantly and leak fluid into the abdomen. According to Mayo Clinic, mild forms are fairly common after stimulation and settle on their own, while severe forms are uncommon but can involve rapid weight gain, severe abdominal pain, vomiting and shortness of breath. If your team saw a very high egg count or warning signs at collection, they may advise limiting activity, monitoring fluid intake and weight, and reporting symptoms quickly. That is not bed rest for the embryo; it is management of a known risk.

Some people are advised to take things gently because of unrelated conditions: a history of blood clots, significant anemia, a difficult or painful transfer, or a job that involves heavy physical labor. Others are asked to wait before a transfer at all. Frozen embryo transfer, where embryos created in an earlier cycle are thawed and placed later, is often chosen when the uterine lining is not ready, when OHSS risk is high, or when genetic testing of embryos is being done. In those cases the “waiting” is about timing the uterus correctly, not about recovery.

Who is told to carry on? Most people. The typical patient with a routine transfer, no OHSS concerns and a normal lining is encouraged to go home, eat a meal, go to work the next day if they wish, and treat the following two weeks as ordinary life with a few sensible limits.

Is it okay to do housework, go to work and exercise after embryo transfer?

These three questions fill fertility forums, and they share one honest answer: within the limits your team sets, yes, and doing so will not change your result.

Housework first. Vacuuming, laundry, cooking, loading a dishwasher and bending to pick things off the floor involve far less force on the pelvis than the everyday life of someone who conceives without knowing it. Carrying a heavy basket of wet washing up two flights of stairs may be worth delegating for a week if your ovaries are sore, but that is about your comfort.

Work is more nuanced because it depends on the job and on you. There is no medical requirement for time off after a routine transfer; Mayo Clinic’s guidance to resume normal daily activity covers most desk-based and light roles. Plenty of people take the day of the transfer off because the appointment itself is emotionally heavy and often involves travel and a full bladder, then return the next day. Others take a few days simply to protect their mental space during a stressful wait. People with physically demanding or very hot jobs may be advised to adjust duties for the two weeks until the pregnancy test, mainly for ovarian comfort. If you are unsure, ask your team for a note that specifies limits rather than blanket rest.

Exercise follows the pattern in the table above. Walking is encouraged. Gentle stretching, swimming and stationary cycling are usually acceptable. High-impact and heavy-resistance training are commonly paused until the test because of the enlarged ovaries, and because a bruised or twisted ovary can derail a cycle far more effectively than any amount of movement could dislodge an embryo. Once the test is done, your team will tell you how to progress.

What to avoid after embryo transfer, and what you can stop worrying about

Because the list of things that genuinely matter is short, it is worth being clear about it so that the long list of things that do not matter can be set down.

Worth avoiding, with reasoning behind each:

• Strenuous or high-impact exercise and heavy lifting until your pregnancy test, to protect enlarged, tender ovaries.
• Saunas, hot tubs and very hot baths, a general early-pregnancy precaution about raised core temperature; warm showers are fine.
• Alcohol and smoking, both of which are associated with poorer fertility outcomes and are standard advice from the NHS for anyone trying to conceive.
• Any new supplement, herbal product or over-the-counter medicine without checking with your team, because some interact with the hormones you are taking.
• Stopping or changing your prescribed progesterone or other support medicines on your own; these decisions belong to your prescribing clinician.

Now the things you can release. Standing up right after the transfer does not matter. Using the toilet, including straining a little, does not matter. Sneezing, coughing and laughing do not matter. Sleeping on your side, your back or your front does not matter. Climbing stairs, driving, carrying groceries and lifting a small child do not matter. Caffeine in moderate amounts, within the general pregnancy limits the NHS describes, is not a reason for panic. Eating pineapple core, keeping your feet warm, or avoiding cold drinks has no evidence behind it either way; if a ritual soothes you and is harmless, there is no need to abandon it, but there is also no need to feel guilty if you skip it.

The pattern is simple. Avoid things that stress your ovaries or your general health. Stop policing ordinary movement.

The two-week wait: what the following days usually look like

The stretch between transfer and the pregnancy test is often called the two-week wait, because the NHS notes that the test is typically done about two weeks after the embryo is transferred, when the pregnancy hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin, made by the developing placenta) has had time to reach detectable levels in blood or urine. Here is how those days commonly unfold, with the caveat that timelines vary with the embryo’s stage at transfer and with the individual.

Days 1 to 3. If a blastocyst, meaning a five- or six-day-old embryo, was transferred, it hatches from its outer shell and begins to attach to the uterine lining within roughly the first few days. Earlier-stage embryos take a little longer. You will feel nothing specific. Some people notice mild cramping or bloating, which is more often from the ovaries, the progesterone or the procedure itself than from implantation.

Days 4 to 7. Attachment deepens as the embryo burrows into the lining. A small minority of people notice light spotting around this time, sometimes called implantation bleeding, but spotting is also common in cycles that do not result in pregnancy, so it predicts nothing on its own.

Days 7 to 14. If implantation has happened, hCG begins to rise and doubles over a period of days. Progesterone support continues throughout and can produce breast tenderness, fatigue, mood swings and bloating that are indistinguishable from early pregnancy symptoms. Many teams ask patients not to use home tests before the scheduled blood test because the trigger injection used before egg collection can leave hCG in the system and cause a false positive early on, and because very early tests can miss a real pregnancy.

Through all of this, the uterus does its work whether you are at a desk, in a park or on a sofa.

First signs of successful embryo transfer: why symptoms tell you very little

Search engines are full of lists of early pregnancy signs after transfer, and they do real harm during the wait, because almost every item on them is also caused by the medicines you are taking.

Progesterone, which nearly everyone receives in some form after transfer, is the same hormone the body produces in early pregnancy. It is given to keep the uterine lining thick and receptive while the embryo attaches, and it has the same side effects whether or not a pregnancy is underway: tender breasts, tiredness, bloating, mild nausea, constipation, mood changes and a sense of fullness in the pelvis. The hormone stimulation before egg collection adds its own residue of bloating and tenderness. So the person who is “sure” because her breasts ache and the person who is “sure it failed” because she feels completely normal have exactly the same information, which is none.

Spotting is often cited as a positive sign, but light bleeding appears in both successful and unsuccessful cycles, and heavier bleeding before the test does not reliably mean failure either, because progesterone can delay a period or cause breakthrough bleeding. Cramping, twinges and a pulling sensation are reported with equal frequency by people who go on to test positive and negative.

The only reliable sign is the hCG blood test your team arranges, and even that is a snapshot. A rising level over repeated tests and, later, a scan showing a heartbeat are what confirm an ongoing pregnancy. Mayo Clinic describes the blood test as the point at which pregnancy is determined, typically about twelve days to two weeks after egg retrieval.

None of this means your body is lying to you. It means that during this specific fortnight, your body is flooded with signals that are impossible to read. Resting more will not make the signs clearer, and moving normally will not blur them.

When do most IVF transfers fail, and does anything you do change that?

This is the hardest question in the article, and it is better answered honestly than gently.

Most transfers that do not result in a pregnancy fail at or around implantation, in the first several days after the embryo is placed. The embryo either does not attach, or attaches and stops developing before it produces enough hCG to register on a test. A smaller share result in a positive test followed by a very early loss, sometimes called a biochemical pregnancy, where hCG rises briefly and then falls. A further share are lost after a pregnancy is seen on a scan, as miscarriage in the first trimester.

The dominant cause across all of those stages is the embryo itself, specifically chromosomal abnormalities that arise during the formation of the egg or sperm or during the first cell divisions. These errors are present before the embryo ever reaches the catheter, and they become more common with increasing maternal age, which is why the NHS and Mayo Clinic both describe age as the strongest factor influencing IVF outcomes. Uterine factors, such as a thin lining, fibroids distorting the cavity, fluid in the cavity, or untreated conditions like hydrosalpinx (a blocked, fluid-filled fallopian tube), account for a minority of failures and are things your team screens for and treats before transfer.

What is conspicuously absent from that list is anything the patient did in the two weeks afterward. There is no mechanism by which walking to the car, going to work or sleeping on your stomach alters a chromosomal error that was fixed at fertilization. When a cycle fails, the instinct to replay every movement and find the moment you “ruined it” is universal and completely unfounded.

Where your choices do matter is before and around the cycle: not smoking, moderating alcohol, managing weight within what your team advises, and taking prescribed medicines as directed. After the transfer, the most useful thing you can do is let the biology run and look after your own mind.

What people often get wrong about bed rest after embryo transfer

Fertility forums are generous, supportive places, and they are also where myths reproduce fastest. Here are the most persistent, each paired with what the evidence actually supports.

“Lie flat for 24 to 72 hours.” No randomized trial has shown that this improves pregnancy rates, and pooled analyses hint it may be marginally worse. Mayo Clinic’s advice is to resume normal activity.

“Keep your legs elevated or your hips raised.” The uterus does not drain downward. Its walls are in contact and the embryo is held by the lining, not by position.

“Do not laugh, sneeze or cough hard.” Intra-abdominal pressure changes during a sneeze are a fraction of what a cervix is built to withstand during labor, and they occur constantly in naturally conceived pregnancies.

“Avoid the toilet for as long as possible.” Holding a very full bladder can cause uterine contractions and is uncomfortable. Empty it when you need to.

“Bed rest cannot hurt, so why not?” It can. Prolonged inactivity raises the risk of blood clots, especially in people whose hormone levels are already elevated, and it concentrates attention on every sensation, which worsens anxiety during an already fraught wait.

“My friend rested and got pregnant, so it works.” Her embryo was chromosomally normal and her lining was receptive. The sofa was a bystander. People who move normally get pregnant at the same rates.

“Eating pineapple, brazil nuts or warm foods helps implantation.” There is no clinical evidence for any of these. They are harmless, so enjoy them if they bring comfort, but do not let them become a source of guilt.

“If I have no symptoms, it has failed.” Symptoms during the wait reflect progesterone far more than pregnancy. Their absence means nothing.

The thread connecting these myths is a wish for control. That wish is entirely reasonable; it is just aimed at the wrong target.

Questions to ask your care team before you leave the clinic

The moments right after transfer are not ideal for absorbing information. You are emotional, possibly uncomfortable, and often being ushered out so the next patient can come in. Writing your questions down beforehand helps, and so does bringing someone who can listen while you process. These are the ones worth having ready.

• How long, if at all, would you like me to rest here before I go, and why?
• Are there any activity limits specific to me, for example because of my egg count, my ovaries at collection, or a difficult transfer?
• What signs of ovarian hyperstimulation should I watch for over the next week, and who do I call if I notice them?
• Can I go back to work tomorrow? If my job is physical or involves heat, what limits should I give my employer?
• Is exercise acceptable, and if so, what kind and how intense until the test?
• What is your advice about sexual intercourse, baths, swimming and travel during the wait?
• Which medicines do I continue, for how long, and what should I do if I miss or vomit a dose?
• What side effects of the progesterone and other support should I expect, so I do not misread them?
• When exactly is my pregnancy test, and do you want me to avoid home tests before then?
• If I bleed before the test, what should I do and does it change the plan?
• If the test is negative, when and how will we talk about what happened and what comes next?

Notice that none of these is “should I lie down?” The better version is “is there any reason for me, specifically, to limit activity?” It puts the question where it belongs, in the hands of the people who know your cycle, and it invites a reason rather than a ritual. If the answer is a plain no, you have permission to live your life. If the answer is yes, you will know what you are protecting and for how long.

When to call your doctor after embryo transfer: red-flag signs

Most of the two-week wait is uneventful, and most twinges, bloating and mild spotting are expected. A small number of symptoms are different, and they warrant a prompt call to your fertility team or, if severe or out of hours, urgent medical care. These relate to your health, not to the embryo, and none of them should be managed by lying down and hoping.

Call the same day if you notice any of the following:

• Severe or worsening abdominal pain or bloating, especially with nausea or vomiting, which can indicate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome or ovarian torsion.
• Rapid weight gain over a day or two, a tightly swollen abdomen, or passing much less urine than usual, all possible signs of fluid shifting in OHSS, as described by Mayo Clinic.
• Shortness of breath, chest pain or pain on breathing, which could reflect fluid around the lungs or a blood clot and needs emergency assessment.
• Pain, swelling, warmth or redness in one leg, a possible deep vein thrombosis.
• Heavy vaginal bleeding soaking through pads, with or without clots, rather than light spotting.
• Fever, chills, or a foul-smelling vaginal discharge, which may signal infection.
• Fainting, dizziness, or sharp one-sided pelvic pain, particularly after a positive test, which the NHS lists among the warning signs of an ectopic pregnancy, where the embryo implants outside the uterus.
• Severe headache, visual disturbance or confusion.

Spotting, mild cramps and breast tenderness alone usually do not need an urgent call, but you should never feel foolish for checking. Fertility teams expect these calls and would rather hear from you than have you sit at home worrying. Keep your team’s daytime and out-of-hours numbers somewhere you can reach them without searching.

Every decision about medicines, activity limits and next steps sits with the clinicians who know your history. This article is a map of the evidence, not a substitute for their judgment.

Frequently asked questions

Is bed rest after embryo transfer necessary?

No. Several randomized trials and systematic reviews comparing immediate mobilization with minutes, hours or days of rest found no difference in pregnancy or live birth rates, and some suggested prolonged rest was marginally worse. Mayo Clinic and most fertility teams now advise resuming gentle normal activity straight away, with your own team’s specific instructions taking priority.

How many days should you take off work after embryo transfer?

There is no medical requirement for time off after a routine transfer. Many people take the day of the procedure because it is emotionally demanding, then return to desk-based or light work the next day. People with heavy physical or very hot jobs may be advised to adjust duties until the pregnancy test to protect enlarged ovaries. Ask your team for limits specific to you.

Can the embryo fall out after transfer?

No. The embryo is deposited between the two thick walls of the uterine lining, which lie pressed together, and the cervix closes as soon as the catheter is withdrawn. Fluid tracer studies show the droplet stays in the cavity whether the patient stands or lies down. Any leakage you notice is gel, cleaning fluid or progesterone residue, not the embryo.

Is it okay to do housework after embryo transfer?

Yes. Cooking, cleaning, laundry and light lifting place far less strain on the pelvis than the ordinary life of someone conceiving naturally, and they do not affect implantation. The only sensible limit is avoiding heavy lifting or vigorous bending if your ovaries are sore from stimulation. If something hurts, delegate it for a week; otherwise carry on.

What should I avoid after embryo transfer?

Avoid strenuous exercise and heavy lifting until your pregnancy test to protect enlarged ovaries, skip saunas and hot tubs, do not smoke or drink alcohol, and do not add supplements or stop prescribed medicines without asking your team. Ordinary walking, stairs, sneezing, laughing, using the toilet and sleeping in any position are all fine and do not need to be managed.

How much rest after IVF transfer is reasonable on the day itself?

A brief pause of ten to fifteen minutes on the couch is common, mainly so you can compose yourself before standing, and it is not a treatment. After that, Mayo Clinic’s guidance is to resume normal daily activities. Taking the rest of the day quietly is a perfectly good personal choice, but it is a comfort decision rather than a medical one.

What are the first signs of a successful embryo transfer?

There are no reliable early signs. Breast tenderness, bloating, fatigue, cramping and light spotting occur in both successful and unsuccessful cycles because progesterone support produces them regardless of pregnancy. The only dependable indicator is the hCG blood test your team arranges about two weeks after transfer, followed by rising levels and later an ultrasound scan.

When do most IVF transfers fail?

Most unsuccessful transfers fail at implantation, within the first several days, when the embryo does not attach or stops developing before producing detectable hCG. The usual cause is a chromosomal abnormality present since fertilization, which becomes more common with maternal age. Nothing a patient does in the two weeks after transfer, including moving normally, causes these failures.

Can walking or climbing stairs after embryo transfer cause failure?

No. Walking and stairs involve pressures far below what the cervix and uterus are built to hold, and trials comparing immediate activity with rest show no difference in outcomes. Light walking is often encouraged because it keeps circulation moving and lowers the risk of blood clots, which rises with prolonged immobility and elevated hormone levels.

Why do some clinics still recommend bed rest after embryo transfer?

Mostly habit and patient expectation. The practice began in the earliest years of IVF before any trials existed and persisted because it felt cautious and patients found it reassuring. As randomized evidence accumulated showing no benefit, most teams moved to advising normal activity. If your team still suggests rest, ask whether there is a reason specific to your cycle.

References

• NHS: IVF, What happens
• Cleveland Clinic: IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)
• MedlinePlus: In vitro fertilization (IVF)
• NHS: Ectopic pregnancy

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.