How to Prepare Yourself For IVF

Undergoing IVF can be an immensely stressful because of the finances involved, time commitment, daily medications, and most of all fear that there are almost 60% chances of failure. It is a complex medical procedure and the reasons why it works sometimes but not others are far from being understood. There are things that you can do for preparing yourself better for IVF both physically and mentally.

You should limit your caffeine intake, eliminate smoking and drinking alcohol. Light to moderate exercise is beneficial to both your emotional and physical well-being, There is no reason that light exercise should have a negative impact on IVF treatment and the opposite is very much believed to be true. Consult your doctor before you start a new fitness plan and as a rule of thumb, rigorous exercises should be omitted.

Taking folic acid is important for pregnant women as it helps to reduce the risk for the unborn to develop birth defects such as spina bifida. Try to keep to a balanced and healthy nutrition. If time permits according to your age and ovarian reserve (that is if your doctor permits), try reaching normal weight for your height as being overweight or underweight can reduce the chances of success.

Stress has a definite negative impact on the success rate so find a way to deal with stress. Join anything that helps you relax -yoga, massage, meditation or prayer. Involve your husband as much as possible. Though physically you are carrying the burden, emotionally both of you are in the same boat and there is no one else who can understand the trauma of it all.

Consider joining an online or live support group for those going through IVF. It’s helpful to meet people with same problems and realizing that you are not alone in world carrying the burden of infertility. Consider acupuncture as there are studies to suggest that it may help, though not completely proven. Be prepared for the unexpected and the Geeta principle actually applies here very well ….which says …. (Karm kiye jaa phal ki ichcha mat kar)… “do your job well, without concentrating on result”. Leave that on God. At the end of day, even if you fail, you will not regret that you did not even try.

IVF requires lot of time commitment so keep a clear schedule for a couple of months. Don’t plan outstation trips and postpone major events or changes at least during those months.

Maintain an IVF diary. IVF is a time-sensitive process and you will constantly need to record dates and time for ultrasounds, blood tests and injections.

Put some form of reminders (like in cell phone) for timing of injections as these may be 2-3 times a day and it is easy to forget if you are working in office.

As for the medication, do not order these in bulk and always try to find a chemist who will take the drugs back if not required. This kind of arrangement can help you save thousands of rupees.