Are the procedures involved in IVF painful?
The pre IVF cycle lab-work tests includes the drawing of blood for various tests and an evaluation of the cavity of the uterus called the saline infusions sonogram (SIS) which can be done in your gynaecologist’s office and you should experience minimal discomfort. You will also have injectable fertility medications, which are administered subcutaneously with a short needle and discomfort should be tolerable. The egg retrieval is performed through the vagina with ultrasound and a fine needle. Patients at Barbados Fertility Centre are asleep during this procedure. The procedure is known as conscious sedation. This is not a general anesthetic but patients are not awake and they have no pain. They wake up very quickly after the egg retrieval, which usually lasts 15-30 minutes. The embryo transfer procedure is similar to a Pap smear or IUI procedure and is generally performed with minimal discomfort.
