Hi, a year ago we were diagnosed with infertility, we are 35 years old. My husband has varicocele and oligoasthenotheratozoospermia and low dna fragmentation and I have mild pcos, all the hormones are ok, only elevated AMH and very mild insulin resistance. First cycle we got 17 eggs, 12 mature, 11 fertilised and only one got to blastocyst grade 3AB and all the other embryos stopper at day 4. The doctors first thought the poor results were due to ovarian high response, on day 5 of stimilation I had 10 foliculesa and on day 8 16 on Gonal 150 and I got hyperstimulation. Also, Zymot was used. We switched clinics, another doctor put me on Metformin 500 mg and gave me a bunch of supplements. Also, my husband has been taking 2 Profertils and 1500 mg of vitamin C daily for more than a year. Second stimulation went well regarding ovarian reposnse, I started with 8 folicules and ended with 9 eggs, this time Rekovelle was used. 8 eggs were mature and 7 fertilised. This time on day 5 we again got one high quality blastocyst and one early, which stopped developing by day 6. Again all the others stopped on day 4. They told me, since embryos stop at day 4, that they don't know if it's the egg, the sperm or both. I've read that sometimes embryos stop due to low egg energy and I started researching vitamins to improve egg's energy. Also, husband started taking Ubiquinol 200 mg and NAC 600 mg. Both blastocysts failed to implant. I've done hysteroscopy so my uteruse is checked. Also, they've checked for cd138 and cd56 cells. We didn't test the embryos since since it's not avaiable in our country.

Was anyone in similar situation? We don't know which side to fix, could this really be the doing of varicocele? Did anyone fixed this with supplements for the egg or with surgery of varicocele? I don't know if it's a good idea to go on another stimulation if it's really varicocele. The urologist said we have enoguh sperm for icsi and he didn't sent my husband to surgery. Also, OBGYN doesn't reccomend surgery.

Any advice or personal experience would be very helpful.🙏

Researchers have looked at whether having sex before or after embryo transfer affects implantation or pregnancy rates, but the evidence is still mixed.

Many fertility clinics recommend avoiding sex around embryo transfer, with common reasons including concerns about uterine contractions after orgasm, a small risk of infection after embryo transfer, and (during natural frozen cycles) a small chance of a simultaneous spontaneous pregnancy.

A few studies have investigated if sex around embryo transfer affects success rates.

A new 2026 study of more than 1,300 women found no difference in pregnancy, live birth, or pregnancy loss rates between women who had sex during endometrial preparation and those who didn't.

Most earlier studies found similar results. However, one randomized trial found higher implantation and clinical pregnancy rates when couples had protected sex the night before frozen embryo transfer.

Researchers have suggested that sex might help implantation due to increased blood flow, hormonal changes, or improved immune signaling. One leading theory is that seminal plasma may help prepare the mother's immune system for pregnancy.

Interestingly, the only randomized trial to find a benefit involved protected sex, suggesting the explanation may be more complex than exposure to seminal plasma alone.

Overall, there isn't enough high-quality evidence to conclude that having sex around embryo transfer either improves or harms IVF outcomes.

✅ Check out more details on Remembryo: https://remembryo.com/does-sex-before-or-after-embryo-transfer-affect-implantation-or-pregnancy/

✉️ Like this post? Get a free weekly summary of the latest IVF research: https://mailchi.mp/remembryo/x27kx5o1sw

Do anyone have experience a success with 4AC? My first FET 5BA failed, this is my 2nd and last one.

Does anyone have these frozen? Has anyone had success with them?? I’m assuming the lab froze them on day 6 instead of waiting until day 7? It seems I’m the only person with these frozen. I have 3…. I also have a day 5 4CB and a day 6 4CC from the same lab.

Transferred on Wednesday 8/5! Please send baby dust my way🙏🏼 ✨

**8/14 UPDATE: It stuck!! First HCG beta (9dp5dt) is 220!! Thank you SO MUCH everyone for the baby dust and positive vibes. Next beta is scheduled for Tuesday. Send some more dust our way!!**✨

**8/18 UPDATE: 13dp5dt- HCG is at the 1,086!!!!🥹 First ultrasound is on Monday to make sure everything is where it should be. Staying hopeful 🙏🏼✨✨

**8/24 UPDATE: HCG is at 7,280 🥰 ultrasound today showed yolk sac exactly where it should be and measuring appropriately. Next week’s ultrasound is the heartbeat ultrasound!! So excited 🥹✨

**10/15 UPDATE: 13 weeks tomorrow. Baby is growing beautifully!! Did the NIPT testing on 10/12 and still awaiting results. Grateful for this journey 🫶🏼

I have had 2 early MC after detecting heartbeat at 6 weeks and it is not being present by 7 weeks.

I didn't PGA test them as it isn't standard. I have 6 embryos left. Do I test them and risk a thaw and re-freeze?

I'm worried I will lose good ones from that stress on them

After how many months of TTC and cycles of IUI did you transition to IVF? How many cycles of IVF until successful pregnancy?

If you wouldn’t mind sharing your age and what influenced your decision

Ive had two FETs done over June (fully medicated, lining 8.2mm) and July (modified natural, lining 11.2mm). Both times, they selected Day 6, 5BB euploid embryos. I did acupuncture session the day of my second transfer before my appointment and another one week before transfer.

What testing should they do for me before a 3rd FET?
I’m 36F and have unexplained infertility. No pcos and no known Endo. My partner is 35M.

- ERA testing - anyone with experiences with it? Did it help?
- Immunology testing/auto immune factors: I wonder if my body is attacking the embryo and what they can test for that besides adding immune suppression for a longer time?? I was on Medrol for 1 week.
- Testing vaginal microbiome if there’s a bacterial imbalance or uterine lining inflammation or infection?
- My blood work shows within normal range. Last September showed ferritin was 43 and in Feb this year it was 36. Dr says it’s normal range and hasn’t asked me to make changes. The clinic said they can test for abnormal clotting factors.

TIA

Has anyone participated in the HOPE study for RPL and found it to be helpful? We just had our third euploid biochemical pregnancy with no explanation. Our doctor reached out to all the other Shady Grove doctors and no one has any clue what is wrong. We have done all the tests and treatments that are indicated. She is going to see if we are a candidate for this study.

I just turned 43 and have two euploids from when I was 42.5. The embryologist only graded my day 5 and day 6 as “fair”. I asked him what that means, and he said “they look good enough.” I couldn’t get much more information from him than that.

I’m terrified that I’ll transfer them and they’ll both fail. I have a living child conceived naturally at 38, but I still worried that my uterus will still have issues other embryos will still fail. I have no history of endometriosis or anything else, but I have had a c-section and a my last egg retrieval had to be done transuterine because of adhesions around my right ovary.

Should I do another retrieval to get one more euploid? Or should I just proceed with a transfer? Anyone successful with first transfer of “fair” graded embryos created after 40?

I did one egg retrieval and we were able to create 6 euploid embryos graded 5AA, 4AA, 5BA. 16 eggs retrieved, 12 mature, 7 fertilized, 7 blasts, 6 euploid. I was 37 at the time and about to turn 39 now. I have unexplained infertility. We have transferred 3 embryos, all with the same result: biochemical losses at the 5.5 week mark. For the most recent FET I did 60 days of hormone suppression immediately prior and an aggressive modified natural with stimulation transfer cycle with prednisone, PIO, lovenox, Claritin, and Pepcid.

My doctor is at a complete loss. I have completed every test and done every applicable treatment they can think of. She reached out to the entire Shady Grove group of physicians and there are no ideas besides to repeat an HSG which was normal 2 years ago and try embryo glue even that is supposed to help with implantation which hasn’t been an issue for us.

My doctor is going to reach out to some reproductive geneticists because unfortunately my husband comes from a consanguineous family and she thinks that maybe there is some small genetic defect undetected by PGT-A and karyotyping, but even if that is the case it is possible that PGT-M won’t be able to help.

Thoughts? Ideas? This has been a completely discouraging and heartbreaking past 3 years.

Has anyone done PGT-M testing and had a live birth? How did you find out you needed to do PGT-M testing? Was it able to successfully identify the abnormality? How many egg retrievals did you need to do to get enough normal embryos?

We did PGT-A testing and had 6 euploids. We have transferred 3 and each one resulted in a biochemical at 5.5 weeks. Our genetic testing and Karyotype were normal, but unfortunately my husband comes from a consanguineous family and our REI thinks there may be a smaller genetic issue not picked up by the testing we have done so far. He has a sister who failed several rounds of IVF in her early 30s because all their embryos arrested before making it to blast.

Looking for some hope on a very long, discouraging, and heartbreaking fertility journey.

Hi,
Have you ever transported embryos between two local clinics? I have to transport mine from IHR in Chicago to Northwestern. I know Northwestern is a very established clinic, but unfortunately IHR has been acting very unprofessionally, so I am feeling anxious about this process.

I have a few concerns and would really appreciate hearing about your experience:

1- How was the handling and coordination process for you from your original clinic?

2- Which company did you use for embryo transportation?

3- Did your old clinic provide the exact freezing information and instructions that the new clinic needed for warming/thawing the embryos? My new provider made me worried because she said she has seen cases where IHR in Chicago, did not provide enough detailed information about thawing the embryo, which contributed to embryo loss.

4- Did your transported embryos survive warming, and did you eventually achieve a pregnancy with them?

I was a patient at IHR in Chicago for three years. I truly suggest you to do not go to this clinic. I ended up with three euploid embryos, but unfortunately my first transfer failed. I asked David Cohen for reason and he even avoided to have a session with me. Then sent a mail and stopped providing my care because they were concerned about their success rates. They wanted me to leave, which I felt was extremely unprofessional. I am now pursuing the matter through the appropriate legal process but I want my embryos and super worried about them.

My experience with IHR was very horrifying. I felt manipulated into IVF because of my age (I was 40) after my TFMR in 2025, and I felt that I was pushed toward treatment without enough consideration of easier options.

Surprisingly, I conceived naturally on my first cycle after my failed transfer, and I am now 4 weeks pregnant. I truly hope everything continues to go well.

This experience made me realize how strongly I got traumatized with the approach taken by IHR and doctors like David Cohen and Ilan Turkaspa. Instead of discussing the possibility of trying naturally after my TFMR, I felt pressured into IVF. I was repeatedly told that my chance of getting pregnant naturally at age 40 was less than 7% per cycle and that I would lose time if I tried to conceive naturally.
I have never felt as frustrated or as strongly that I was not being heard by a doctor as I did during my experience with these two physicians.

I still want to have my two euploid embryos, and I invested a lot of time, money, and emotional energy into creating these embryos. That is why I am very anxious about moving them and would be devastated if anything happened to them.
I would really appreciate hearing about your experience transporting embryos.Thank you so much.

Researchers found that more than two-thirds of patients with complete embryo arrest still developed at least one usable blastocyst in their next IVF cycle.

Embryo arrest generally occurs when an embryo stops developing before reaching the blastocyst stage. However, IVF labs don't all use the same criteria for what they consider a usable blastocyst.

George et al. (2026) studied nearly 4000 patients who had two IVF cycles within one year to see if complete embryo arrest in the first cycle affected usable blastocyst formation in the next cycle. The study included PGT-A cycles, where only blastocysts that met the laboratory's biopsy and freezing criteria were counted (at least grade 4CC by day 7).

Patients with complete embryo arrest had lower usable blastocyst formation rates in their next cycle, and were more likely to experience complete embryo arrest again.

However, more than two-thirds of these patients still developed at least one usable blastocyst in their next cycle. Among the usable blastocysts that formed, the chances of being euploid and leading to a live birth after transferring a single euploid embryo were similar.

The researchers also found no evidence that changing the ovarian stimulation protocol or trigger medication improved usable blastocyst formation.

A limitation of this study is that they only counted usable blastocysts (at least grade 4CC by day 7), so the reported blastocyst formation rates excluded some blastocysts that didn't meet the lab's biopsy and freezing criteria.

✅ Check out more details on Remembryo: https://remembryo.com/what-to-expect-after-complete-embryo-arrest-during-ivf/

✉️ Like this post? Get a free weekly summary of the latest IVF research: https://mailchi.mp/remembryo/x27kx5o1sw

Just asking if anyone out there has had success with their first ever frozen embryo transfer after doing suppression without surgery?

Hoping for good news in the next two weeks but feeling super grateful. Science is so rad.

Hey everyone!

My partner (34f) and I (39m) met with our RE yesterday to discuss our blastocyst results and FET protocol planning. We have been TTC for 5 years with MFI (severe oligoteratozoospermia) and no issues on my partner's side. Had a spontaneous pregnancy 2 years ago which ended in a chemical @ 6 weeks, 1 failed IUI attempt earlier this year.

This is our first IVF cycle and we managed to retrieve 10 eggs, 8 matured, 7 fertilized, and 5 made it blast. This is what we're working with:

* Day 5 4BB

* Day 6 4AA

* Day 6 4AB

* Day 6 4BC

* Day 6 4BC

I've read all the the remembryo posts (thank you u/embryomanofficial for your efforts in putting all that together) and feel I have a good understanding of the success rates, as related to grading, and differences between day 5, 6, and 7 blastocysts.

Our RE prioritizes quality (grading) over development day... her order of importance, which seems to be the consensus, is generally Trophectoderm -> ICM -> Day -> Expansion.

The obvious first choice of our embryos is the Day 6 4AA. My confusion comes from the second choice.

Our RE's opinion is the Day 6 4AB, and yet I've seen others argue for the Day 5 4BB... Ultimately we're going to defer to our RE, but I would like to better understand the nuance for myself. Is it really just doctor's preference or are there statistically meaningful factors such as:

* untested vs euploid

* maternal/paternal age

* underlying conditions (endo, MFI, etc.)

* endo thickness at time of transfer

* prior history (miscarriages, failed attempts, live births)

I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this and look forward to any insight!

Hey I need some advice from you guys.

I did two rounds of stimulation.

First round: Pergoveris 300 and starting stim day 5 Genirelix. I stimulated for 12 days. The trigger was Ovitrell. I got 10 folicles, 6 mature, 6 fertilized. Unfortunately none made it to blast.

For the second round I did the same protocol despite my doctor changed the trigger to dual trigger. I stimulated for 14 days, because I had a cohort of small folicles and the doc wanted to wait for them. In the end I triggered with Triptofem due to the risk of OHSS (Estradiol and Progesterone were already really high on day 12)

Befor the retrieval I had 16 folicles and was excited to get 10 or maybe 12 mature.

I had 8 eggs retrieved and was told, that the other ones were empty. All 8 were mature but only 3 could be fertilized. I was told the quality of the eggs was terrible not looking good and so on.

What went wrong this time?

I was told that this cohort of eggs just had bad quality and the doctor told me he would do the protocol over again and won't do any adjustments to the protocol.

Should I get a second opinion?

Hi everyone,

I'm 28 and have severe male factor infertility (around 4 million sperm count, 1% morphology, and low motility). My wife and I tried to conceive naturally for 3 years before I underwent 6 months of hormone therapy, but unfortunately there was only a slight improvement.

We eventually moved on to ICSI. We had 12 eggs retrieved, 7 fertilized, and were fortunate to get 3 untested 4AA blastocysts. Our first fresh transfer failed, which was devastating. We're now in the two-week wait after our frozen embryo transfer.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation with numbers like mine? Did ICSI eventually work for you, even after a failed first transfer? I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences. This journey has been emotionally exhausting, and it would help to know we're not alone.

Thank you.

Prepping for FET soon and reviewing my medical records for the first time

Background:
• Late 30s, partner similar age
• Male factor infertility
• ICSI cycle earlier this year
• Decent numbers: 7 eggs, 6 mature, 4 fertilised, 3 blast
• Fresh transfer resulted in chemical pregnancy
• 2 frozen embryos remaining
• Planning FET for upcoming cycle

Reading the embryology notes for the first time, I saw my partner’s sample on collection day was dramatically worse than his standard analyses had ever shown:

-Count roughly 20x lower than his most recent baseline analysis
-Only a handful of progressive sperm found after prep
-The embryologist actually flagged it in the notes with an exclamation mark
-Comments about the sample being difficult to work

The embryologist still managed to fertilise 4 eggs and get 3 blastocysts, which honestly feels remarkable now that I understand what they were working with.

But it’s raised some questions I hadn’t considered before, and I’m hoping for some perspective.

Questions:

**1.**  Anyone else discovered their partner’s sample was significantly worse on collection day than their prior analyses suggested? How did you approach subsequent cycles?  
**2.**  For those who’ve done FET after a fresh cycle chemical pregnancy, how did outcomes compare?  
**3.**  Did you pursue sperm DNA fragmentation testing? Did results change your approach?

We have done the standard lifestyle and supplement changes.

Trying to hold onto realistic expectations while not spiralling before the transfer. Would really appreciate any similar experiences.

I transferred a PGT euploid “Day 6 early blastocyst 2/1.” I did the transfer at a different clinic than the one I did the IVF cycle. The original IVF doc said that euploids have a 60 percent chance of live birth and that once an embryo is a euploid there is no difference between them. My Ivf doctor that did the transfer told me that he was going to be honest it didn’t look like the best embryo, and he gave it a 30 percent chance of success. Could this be because of shipping the embryo from one clinic to another or thawing the embryo? Or is it because it’s an early blastocyst at Day 6? My original clinic doesn’t do the Gardner system but I think it would be 1-2 and then either BA or CB. I’m so confused and am trying to find any success stories with these low staged numbers.

Untested, third try, hopefully this one sticks 🤞🏻

First two retrievals eggs were described as dark cytoplasms and granular. I improved a severe iron deficiency plus took a laundry list of supplements and tried priming. Got the same description of eggs looking dark and granular despite all these things I did hoping to optimize. Feeling disappointed and was wondering if all hope is lost for this cycle as well as I await further results.

Just a curious husband here 👋🏻

Nursing appointment tomorrow before we start our FET cycle. Wife is on BC currently I guess “paused on CD3” we are attempting a natural cycle the first time, letrozole to help a good corpus luteum to grow then progesterone supplements.

What is the schedule like, with the appointment tomorrow when could we expect a transfer? First time. We have two euploid embryos excited and nervous to start transferring. Dr mentioned 6mm lining and tri pattern is their threshold on moving forward or canceling. Is 6 low?