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Bed rest is bad for IVF patients.



One of the myths which continues to plague IVF patients is that of bed rest. This has been propagated for decades, and everyone tells them to rest after doing a transfer. It's often not just their mother-in-law and friends - it's often the doctor ( and nurses) as well !

This makes absolutely no sense , because bed rest is actually bad for patients. It adds to their emotional stress , because an idle mind is the devil's workshop. When they rest in bed, they think all day about what could potentially go wrong, and how they will cope if the pregnancy test comes back as negative. It's bad for their physiology as well, because their backs hurt ; their muscles become weak , and blood flow to the uterus actually decreases.

This is why we encourage patients not to take any bed rest at all, and to continue to lead a normal life ! After all, they aren't really patients - they are healthy women , and we are just helping them to kick-start their pregnancy ! Once the embryo is transferred into the uterus, it is as a safe as a pearl in an oyster. Embryo implantation is a biological process, and will progress normally and naturally, irrespective of physical activity.


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Authored by : Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD and reviewed by Dr Anjali Malpani.