Preparing for Egg Retrieval and Sperm Collection: What to Do Beforehand

Preparation for egg retrieval and sperm collection falls into two parts. The first is what you do in the months beforehand, where stopping smoking has the clearest evidence behind it. The second is the specific instructions for the day itself, including how long to fast, when to stop ejaculating before a sample, and arranging someone to take you home. Those day-of instructions come from your own clinic and take priority over anything you read here, because they vary between units and depend on the anesthesia used.

What happens during egg retrieval?

After a course of ovarian stimulation, once the follicles have reached the right size, the eggs are collected in a short procedure. A fine needle is passed through the vaginal wall under ultrasound guidance to aspirate the fluid from each follicle, and the eggs are identified in the laboratory. Anesthesia is used, and you go home the same day. The eggs are then fertilized in the laboratory, either through conventional IVF or through ICSI, where a single sperm is injected into each egg.

How should you prepare in the months beforehand?

Stop smoking

This is the change with the clearest evidence. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine's fact sheet on smoking and infertility sets out its effects on both partners. Its committee opinion on tobacco or marijuana use and infertility reviews the evidence in more detail.

Reduce alcohol and caffeine

ASRM's guidance on optimizing natural fertility advises reducing alcohol and caffeine while trying to conceive, and avoiding recreational drugs.

Eat well, and start early

Diet works over months rather than weeks. For men in particular, sperm production runs on a cycle of roughly two to three months, so changes need that long to show. Our articles on foods that nourish sperm and fertility foods for women set out what the evidence supports.

Avoid heat exposure, for men

Hot baths, saunas and other sustained heat to the testes are commonly advised against in the run-up to sperm collection, because sperm production is temperature sensitive.

What are the instructions for the day of egg retrieval?

These are the instructions commonly given. Your clinic's own instructions take priority, and you should confirm each of these with the team treating you.

• Fasting. Because egg retrieval is done under anesthesia, you will be asked not to eat or drink beforehand. The usual pre-anesthetic standard is no food for six hours and no clear fluids for two hours before the procedure, but the exact period is set by the anesthetist and our instruction to you governs.
• Arrange a lift home. You should not drive yourself after sedation or anesthesia. Bring someone with you.
• No perfume, and no nail polish if your clinic asks for it. Some laboratories ask this because volatile compounds can affect the culture environment, and nail polish can interfere with monitoring during anesthesia.
• Tell the team about any medical conditions and all medications you take, including anything bought without a prescription.
• Avoid strenuous activity in the days beforehand. Stimulated ovaries are enlarged and more vulnerable.
• Leave valuables at home.

After the retrieval

Some cramping similar to period pain and light vaginal bleeding in the first 24 hours is expected. Contact the clinic if pain persists beyond two to three days, worsens, or is accompanied by heavy bleeding, fever, severe bloating, breathlessness or a reduction in how much you are passing urine. Those last symptoms can indicate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and should be reported rather than waited out.

What are the instructions for sperm collection?

• Abstain from ejaculation for 2 to 7 days beforehand. This is the interval specified in the WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen, and it matters because both a shorter and a longer gap change the result.
• Tell the team if you are unwell, particularly with a fever, in the weeks before collection.
• Produce the sample at the clinic where possible. A sample produced at home can be affected by delay and temperature in transit. If producing at the clinic is difficult, say so in advance rather than on the day, so arrangements can be made.
• Follow the hygiene instructions given for collection, which are there to prevent contamination of the sample.

We at Millennium IVF Clinic will give you written instructions for your own procedure. You can contact our team with any questions before the day.

Frequently asked questions

How long before egg retrieval should I stop eating?

Commonly six hours for food and two hours for clear fluids, which is the usual pre-anesthetic standard. We will confirm the exact times for your procedure, and those take precedence over any general figure.

Is egg retrieval painful?

Egg retrieval is typically carried out under sedation or a light general anesthetic, so you should not feel the procedure, and you go home the same day. Cramping afterwards is common. Ask us to confirm what will be used for you and what to expect on waking.

Why does the abstinence period before a sperm sample matter?

Too short a gap can reduce the volume and count; too long can reduce motility. The WHO manual specifies 2 to 7 days so that results are consistent and comparable.

Can my partner be with me during the retrieval?

Policies differ between clinics, particularly where the male partner is producing a sample the same day. Ask us in advance and we will tell you what applies on the day.