Natural FET - any insight? Better than medicated?

[FET2025]

Hello all,

(TW I have had successful pregnancies before - so I could myself very fortunate - took us 13 years to get first baby).

I am going for a further FET. I am planning a natural / unmedicated transfer. Anyone any insight / research / advice?

I guess it’s less all or nothing as we have children - and I’d like it to be as un-medicalised as possible… (even for fertiiity treatment).

Thanks in advance

It didn't work for me as i ovulated too early so timing was missed but as long as you are closely monitored, its ideal. Statistically better outcomes with spontaneous ovulation and no drugs/side effects. I'm glad I tried and as didn't have to pay for drugs, I was up for trying. That said, I spent a lot on scans and blood tests.

Thanks Sara - I think that’s a risk as at this stage I haven’t done much ovulation tracking. I have a longer than usual cycle - but still within bounds.

But good to know re statistics. I just feel like I’d rather do as little as possible in terms of meds - but should take time to properly research it. Thank you!

You could start tracking your cycle, I now use premom app and tests. Once you have the LH surge you know ovulation is imminent and then a few days after that you'll likely have high progesterone to show you've ovulated. I've found it so accurate and educational. Realized I didn't really have a clue about the intricacies of my cycle beforehand! Then they transfer if lining is ok. I had a scan before to check no lining issues etc.

I'm currently in the tww of my unmedicated fet. First transfer was medicated fet, second transfer was fresh after a long protocol and this one is unmedicated fet. It's a much easier process so it is the calmest and least stressed I have been, which is lovely. You need to go for more appointments to keep an eye on your natural ovulation so it can be a bit time consuming. If you have regular cycles though, this should be fine. You also have to do ovulation tests at home to keep an eye yourself and ring them if they start getting high and your next scan is too far away. I only started progesterone after ovulation so the whole process was much nicer. Good luck.

I got pregnant and had a baby from a fully natural FET. It was a bit stressful getting the timing of it with the ovulation tracking as I ended up using two different ovulation tests and one (the purple clear blue ovulation tests) gave me a positive test too early, thankfully using the pink clear blue ones and LH strips alongside it I realised I actually wasn't ovulating until a couple of days later so the FET ended up being timed correctly thankfully.

I knew from IUI that I ovulated and produced a good level of progesterone afterwards thankfully. Also my progesterone test came back at a really good level for the FET so that was great. I'm glad I didn't need to take any medication for the FET or carry it on in pregnancy. I found with a fresh transfer (didn't work) and doing the progesterone pessaries that I seemed to bleed early anyway. So I'm glad I went for a natural FET 😊

I had a low medicated FET because when I had a medicated FET I was all over the place, I felt awful. The only meds I took the second time was the progesterone pessaries after the transfer and the trigger shot. I didn’t have to test all the time, I have very regular cycles and they asked me to come in a few days before predicted ovulation day and they did a scan to check the lining and told me it looked good and to do the trigger shot that evening so they could control the timing to transfer a 5day embryo better. I was happy with that, for me the estrogen pills were what sent me fruit loopy, so I was just glad to avoid those. I felt super relaxed 😎
As a pp said, the statistics are actually better, and ours worked! Good luck! 🍀

@Kaybee1989 could I ask if you had any symptoms while waiting for your positive? My experience sounds similar to you - full medicated cycle I was all over the place. This cycle, I'm feeling nothing and I'm hoping that's because of a lack of medication rather than it not working.

None at all, in fact I was convinced it hadn’t worked because two/three days before the beta blood test I had all the symptoms of a period. Light backache, bit bloated, diarrhea (my normal symptoms before a period) But I was mentally in a better place, I don’t know if it was the lesser hormones or because it was our second try but I felt more in control 😊 When is your test day?

@Kaybee1989 My test day isn't until Friday so Im 7dp5dt today. I'm putting any small twinges down to the progesterone that I started taking after transfer. Last time, I thought I had so many symptoms and it was a negative test, it was all down to the medication. Yesterday and today I'm feeling mild period type pains so I feel like it's on its way. It's reassuring to know that you didnt have any symptoms for the non medicated fet though. Thanks for replying.

@May100 Thinking of you today 🤞🏻💕

Absolutely go for the natural fet if that’s your preference and you’re a good candidate for it. But it’s not accurate to say it’s better, there are pros and cons to natural and medicated. It’s about what’s best for the individual. I’ve heard success stories from women who’ve tried both and one was just a better fit for them. And in some cases the outcome is just down to the embryo.

Thank you @Kaybee1989 but unfortunately it was another negative result for me.