Should I travel during my IVF treatment?

Dr. Shweta Goswami 

Many questions keep pondering us during IVF treatment. One of them would be should I travel when my IVF treatment is going on…? Many couples ask me, if they can take vacations and travel before, after, or during treatment. Actually, IVF medications and procedures can interfere dramatically with your day-to-day life. In all honesty, the bottom line is better safe than sorry. 

It would be quite difficult for one to travel during the medication phase of the IVF process. Regardless of your medication schedule, which is likely to be sturdy, you will be seeing your doctor on a regular basis for monitoring appointments that include blood work and ultrasounds. It is likely that you won’t be able to get away during this phase of your treatment. Keep in mind, you also don’t know how your body is going to react to the medications, you might want to be near your doctor just in case you have some bad side effects or concerns. 

The next part of the IVF process includes two procedures; egg retrieval and embryo transfer. You won’t be able to find here to travel at all. Some IVF patients do travel from their home quite some distance to seek treatment in a larger town or city. This type of traveling is okay, as you will need to travel back and forth between your home and treatments. Some doctors do recommend a hotel stay for a night or two immediately following each procedure. 

So you are thinking to yourself, after all that I have gone through I need a little time to get away. Dependent on your doctor, you typically will have bed rest for at least 1 day following your embryo transfer. Some doctors recommend up to 5 days, but the average is typically 2-3 days. Do to your work schedule and or planned vacations, many women wonder if it O.K to proceed with life as normal. Part of the answer is yes, you need to

continue with day-to-day routines, but traveling by air or even long road trips, during this time may not be the wisest decision. Many women will find that their doctor tells them that they are free to go about and do as they wish, while others are told to refrain from flying and sitting for long periods of time. Years ago a study was conducted and found that flight attendants had a slightly higher miscarriage risk than the average population. It is also a concern for many women to sit in a car, as your blood flow is restricted because you are not moving. To play it safe, wait and see indeed if you are pregnant, and even more so, get confirmation that your pregnancy is uterine. The last thing that you want is a complication 25,000 feet in the air from an ectopic pregnancy. 

If you find that your doctor is more on the conservative side, relax; there will be plenty of time for traveling in the future.