How does an embryo form and implant, and is it different if you get pregnant naturally versus via IVF? If you are getting pregnant through IVF or are getting pregnant naturally, the egg goes through the same journey. The only difference between the two is that in a natural pregnancy, it happens inside your body and with IVF, it can happen outside your body if you have your eggs harvested or are using donor eggs.
This image shows the journey that your egg goes through to get to the blastocyst stage, where it can implant into your uterus lining.
If you get pregnant naturally, your embryo develops as it travels down the fallopian tube once fertilisation has happened, but if you are undergoing IVF, where your eggs are harvested, then the development will happen in the lab.
It takes five or six days after fertilisation for the embryo to reach the blastocyst stage, which is when it is made up of 50 to 200 cells and is ready to implant into your uterus lining. This is why many women have eggs transferred for IVF after they have reached the blastocyst stage, as it just means that one more hurdle has been jumped before implantation. That was why I chose to go with a donor embryo rather than an egg donor.
I have to say that I find it fascinating what science can do now, and also, although they seem to be so far along, there is actually a lot they still don’t know. For example, they can’t tell you why it worked for someone else and not for you or vice versa. They point to things like weight and lifestyle, but then there are always obese women who still get pregnant. I think one of the things I found fascinating from doing IVF is that the chances of getting pregnant drop at each stage, so it is a real rollercoaster of a journey that makes it very challenging mentally and emotionally, whether you are trying naturally or through IVF. I hope that this post has answered the questions you have on how an embryo forms and implants 🙂
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