“Should I lie down for a while after my embryo transfer to optimize our chances of success?”
That is a question we are asked on a daily basis. We've always advised our patients that bed rest after transfer was not going to increase the likelihood of success, but a new study has actually shown that bed rest following transfer might, in fact, actually DECREASE the likelihood of success.
A prospective, randomized study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility (2013; Volume 100, issue 3) of conducted by researchers in Valencia, Spain, randomized a group of 240 donor egg recipients to one of two groups. The first group remained lying down for 10 minutes after their embryo transfer, before being allowed to leave the office. The second group was allowed to get up immediately after their transfer and go on with their day. The primary end point of the study was live birth rate (LBR).
The researchers found that the LBR was actually HIGHER in the group that did NOT have bed rest (56.7%) versus those who DID have bed rest (41.6%). This was a statistically significant finding. Lower miscarriage rates were also observed in the no rest group (18.3% vs. 27.5%); however those numbers did not reach statistical significance. There were no differences in neonatal characteristics (height, weight, Apgar scores, etc).
Previous studies that have looked at bed rest after embryo transfer were done in regular IVF patients. A particular strength of this study is that it was limited to donor egg recipients i.e. all the eggs were from young, healthy women. So any impact on pregnancy rates due to variations in egg quality was minimized.
While it may seem to our thinking mind that lying down after embryo transfer would insure the embryos did not “fall out” or would give them an advantage to ‘stick’, it would seem that our body would disagree. Whether this is due to anatomical factors or psychological factors need further investigation. But it does seem clear that bed rest after embryo transfer is not only unwarranted, but may also be counterproductive.
At InVia Fertility Specialists, we have been encouraging patients to get up and leave immediately after embryo transfer for more than a decade. We are glad that this paper confirms that we do not need to change our protocol.