Your Holistic IVF Week-by-Week Guide: Part 4 (Embryo Transfer & the Two Week Wait)

Fertility & Preconception
Written By Audrey Le

Embryo transfer marks a significant milestone in the IVF process. While the hardest parts of stimulation and retrieval are behind you, the uncertainty ahead can be just as emotionally complex here. You may feel like there’s little left in your control. However, there are still grounded, evidence-based ways to care for your body and mind through this next phase.

This guide offers practical, holistic support from just before transfer through the early implantation window and the two-week wait.

Before the Embryo Transfer: Creating a Receptive Foundation

In the day or two before transfer, your focus is on calming your nervous system and supporting circulation, hormone signaling, and endometrial receptivity.

  • Regulating your nervous system: Deep breathing, gentle yoga, and restorative routines signal safety to your body. Research shows that lowering stress hormones may support better reproductive outcomes. Aim for at least 10 minutes a day of intentional down-regulation even if it’s just lying down with music and breath.

  • Acupuncture both before and after transfer (same day): Emerging evidence and clinical experience suggest that acupuncture done within 24 hours before and again within hours after the embryo transfer may increase implantation and live birth rates. One well-known study published in Fertility and Sterility (Paulus et al., 2002) showed a significant improvement in pregnancy rates with acupuncture on the day of transfer. The key may lie in acupuncture’s ability to reduce uterine contractions, improve endometrial blood flow, and calm the stress response. If your clinic allows it, scheduling acupuncture before and after transfer on the same day is a simple, low-risk way to support implantation.

  • Eat warm, grounding meals: According to Traditional Chinese Medicine warm, nourishing meals help the body conserve energy and support digestion, circulation, and hormone signaling. Think soups, stews, sautéed greens, root vegetables, lentils, and healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, or tahini. Avoid cold/raw foods, which may dampen digestion and circulation.

  • Stay warm but not overheated: Keeping your feet, abdomen, and lower back warm may support blood flow to the uterus. Cozy socks or layering with soft clothes can go a long way.

  • Create meaning: A simple ritual like journaling your intention for this cycle, lighting a candle, or wearing a symbolic item can shift the day from medical to sacred.

After Transfer: What You Can Do to Support Implantation

Implantation doesn’t happen right away. In the first 3–5 days, the embryo is still preparing to implant. These early days matter and the goal here is to create a receptive, low-inflammation environment.

  • Move gently: While it’s best to refrain from engaging in strenuous activities, avoid strict bed rest. Studies have found a possible association between prolonged immobilization after embryo transfer and lower implantation and pregnancy rates. Instead, walk slowly, stretch, or simply stay active in a gentle way.

  • Eat nourishing, anti-inflammatory foods: Keep blood sugar steady and support hormones with cooked greens, cruciferous vegetables, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Bone broth can provide minerals and amino acids; it may not have proven fertility specific benefits, but it supports gut health and recovery. Pomegranate juice is high in antioxidants, though strong clinical data on its effect on implantation is still lacking, it's a safe and pleasant addition.

  • Hydrate: Aim for 2–3 liters of water daily. Add herbal teas like ginger, rooibos, spearmint, or lemon balm for gentle, caffeine-free hydration and relaxation support. Include electrolytes if you feel tired or bloated. Avoid excessive caffeine, alcohol, or sugary drinks.

  • Support calm: Daily stress reduction can influence implantation via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Consider guided meditation, vagus nerve breathing, yoga nidra, or even simply sitting outside with your feet on the earth.

  • Limit digital overwhelm: The 2 week wait can be fraught with anxiety. Avoid Reddit forums, endless Googling, and early testing spirals. Decide ahead of time whether and when you will test, and put test kits out of sight until then.

During the Two-Week Wait: How to Stay Emotionally Steady

I know waiting is torture at this point. If you could, you might very well fast forward to the end. But you can help anchor your hope and calm whatever fears come up in these routines.

  • Set a daily rhythm: Wake at a consistent time, eat regular meals, and include something that grounds you each day. This keeps your cortisol levels stable and supports circadian alignment, which impacts hormone function.

  • Sleep well: Deep rest is healing. I will say it again. Deep rest is healing. Aim for 8–9 hours of sleep, and allow yourself naps or low-energy afternoons. This is a time to prioritize recovery, not productivity.

  • Create emotional boundaries: Your energy is not limitless. Protect it. Choose 1–2 people who are safe to talk to. Say no to anyone who drains you or minimizes what you’re going through.

  • Avoid extreme thinking: It’s tempting to read into every cramp, twinge, or lack of symptoms. But symptoms aren't reliable indicators. Stay grounded in the knowing that you are doing your part.

What If You’re Not Feeling Hopeful?

Some days you’ll feel optimistic. Other days not so much. You may not feel anything at all. Let it be okay. This experience can hold more than one truth. You can want it deeply and still feel afraid.

You don’t have to fake positivity or force peace to be deserving.

Instead, keep coming back to what’s within reach. Ask yourself or journal:

  • “What would bring a little more ease to today?”

  • “How can I show up for myself right now?”

Your feelings are there to direct you to what you need.

If the Cycle Doesn’t Lead to Pregnancy

If this cycle didn't end in a pregnancy, please know that you are not alone. Allow whatever feelings that come up to be there. Pause and give yourself space. This cycle wasn't for nothing. It gave your team more information and clarified your next steps. You are still on your path.

If the test is negative:

  • Give yourself a day to feel what you feel. Don’t rush to next steps.

  • Reach out to someone you trust or a therapist trained in fertility loss.

  • Know that one outcome doesn’t define your capacity to become a parent.

Summary of Supportive Practices:

  • Before transfer: acupuncture, warm meals, regulate stress, meaningful ritual

  • After transfer: light movement, hydration, grounding foods, inflammation reduction

  • During the 2 week wait: rest, emotional boundaries, structure, limit symptom analysis

More in This Series:

Audrey Le
Next

Your Holistic IVF Week-By-Week Guide: Part 3 (Egg Retrieval & Embryo Development)