What happens to your body when you stop progesterone after IVF
If you’ve been on progesterone supplementation, whether pessaries or injections, stopping or tapering around 10 to 12 weeks can feel destabilising in a way that catches many people off guard.
Many of our patients describe it as stepping off a ledge. That medication has been part of your daily routine for weeks, sometimes months. It’s been a small act of agency in a process where so much has felt out of your control. And stopping it can feel frightening, even when you know rationally that it’s the right next step.
Here’s what we want you to hold on to: by this point, your placenta has naturally taken over progesterone production. Stopping your medication is a sign your pregnancy is progressing well, not a risk to it. Your body is doing what it’s supposed to do. If you have concerns, your midwife or GP are absolutely the right person to speak to, and please do reach out rather than sitting with the worry alone.
You may also notice shifting energy levels, changes in nausea, and emotional ups and downs as your hormones settle into their new rhythm. Some people feel better. Some feel worse for a little while. All of this is normal. Be gentle with yourself as your body adjusts.
Why transitioning from IVF care to NHS midwifery care can feel harder than expected
During your time at the clinic, you had access to regular scans, frequent blood tests, and a team that knew your case in detail. You could call us with questions. You had regularly updated data to reassure you that things were progressing.
NHS midwifery care is excellent, and your midwife will be your most important point of contact for the rest of your pregnancy. But the rhythm is different. Appointments are less frequent. And the reassurance scans – or face-to-face appointments with a clinical professional you may have grown used, to are not a standard part of routine antenatal care.
For many IVF patients, this gap, moving from intensive monitoring to a more standard schedule, is one of the most anxiety-provoking parts of the whole journey.
Knowing this in advance can help. It’s OK to talk to your midwife about how you’re feeling; it’s absolutely OK to ask questions. And if you’re struggling emotionally with the transition, tell your midwife and seek support. You don’t have to manage this quietly.
The two things you must tell your midwife after IVF
We cannot stress this enough. There are two things we’d encourage every IVF patient to share at their very first booking appointment, and both of them matter more than you might think.
The first is that you’ve had fertility treatment and, if relevant, that you’re feeling anxious. Your midwife doesn’t need the full story. You don’t have to explain every cycle, every scan, every phone call you dreaded. But knowing you’ve been through treatment gives them important context for your care. It means they’ll understand why you might want more reassurance than the average patient. It means they’ll think twice before making a throwaway comment that lands very differently for someone who has fought hard to get here. It also means they can flag you for additional emotional support if that feels right.
The second is your embryo transfer date. The NHS dates pregnancies from the last menstrual period, which simply doesn’t apply in the same way after IVF. Your transfer date is a far more accurate reference point and will help ensure your due date and scan timings are correct from the start. Don’t assume your fertility clinic will have passed this information on automatically. Write it down and bring it with you.
What anxiety in pregnancy after IVF really looks like, and why it makes sense
Pregnancy after infertility and IVF isn’t the same as pregnancy after conception without difficulty. That’s not a judgement on anyone. It’s simply a clinical and emotional reality, and one we feel strongly that the wider maternity system needs to understand better.
Our patients have, in many cases, experienced real loss. Failed cycles. Chemical pregnancies. The devastating phone call that none of their embryos were suitable for transfer. They’ve learned, at a very deep level, that hope is not a guarantee. That vigilance is a form of self-protection. That it’s safer not to fully believe the good news until it has been confirmed, and confirmed again.
What this can look like in pregnancy is a persistent sense of not quite being able to relax into it, even when everything is going well. A reluctance to buy things, to tell people, to make plans, to let yourself feel excited. It’s not a sign that something is wrong with you, or that you aren’t bonding, or that you aren’t grateful. It’s a completely understandable response to everything you’ve been through, and we see it in so many of our patients.
If you’re experiencing significant anxiety during your pregnancy, please tell someone. Your midwife, your GP or a counsellor. You don’t have to manage this alone, and you’re not supposed to simply ‘better’ because you got the result you wanted.
We have a link to the NHS Perinatal Mental Health service below, and Amy, our Head of Marketing, has written about her own experience of pregnancy after years of TTC and IVF. Read it here.
Practical support for pregnancy after fertility treatment
Seek out communities of people who’ve been through fertility treatment. The understanding you’ll find there is genuinely different from general pregnancy support. Whether that’s Fertility Network UK, the Peanut app, an IVF-specific online community, or an NCT group where you feel able to be open, finding people who truly get it makes a real difference.
Here are a few resources we recommend to our patients:
- Fertility Network UK offers peer support from people who’ve been through treatment
- Peanut is an app where you can find and connect with other women locally who’ve been through similar experiences
- LGBT Mummies offer incredible support for the LGBTQIA+ community, including pregnancy and parenting support groups
- For solo parents, Paths to Parenthood offers support groups for people who’ve gone through any kind of donor conception. Mel Johnson runs The Stork and I, a support network for SMBCs. And there are Facebook Groups such as this one connecting solo mothers in the UK.
Think about antenatal classes early, and consider whether you might find it valuable to seek out groups specifically for people who’ve had fertility treatment. That shared context matters in a way that’s hard to overstate.
There are a few options:
- NHS antenatal classes, free, offered through your midwifery team, covering labour, birth, feeding and early parenting. Ask your midwife what’s available locally.
- NCT classes are paid, but many people find the connection with other expectant parents in their area really valuable.
- There are lots of other excellent online and independent courses, such as Happy Parents, Happy Baby. Your midwife can point you towards reputable ones.
If you’re considering complementary therapies, such as pregnancy yoga, reflexology, or acupuncture, all of which many of our patients find helpful, always let any practitioner know you’ve had fertility treatment. It may affect how they approach your care, and a good practitioner will want to know.
We created The Little Burgundy Book for this exact reason: a curated collection of trusted specialists recommended by our team, for both during fertility treatment and pregnancy.
Each professional brings a thoughtful, evidence-based approach to emotional support. Think of it as your trusted guide to experts who understand what you’ve been through and can offer support when it matters most.
Free support for your mental health during and after pregnancy
One resource we would encourage every patient to know about from the very beginning is the NHS Perinatal Mental Health service. It is free, covers the period from pregnancy through to a year after birth, and is specifically for people who are struggling emotionally during this time.
You don’t need to be in crisis to access it. If you’re feeling anxious, low, or overwhelmed at any point during your pregnancy or in those early months after birth, speak to your midwife or GP and ask about a referral.
After a fertility journey, the emotional weight you are carrying into pregnancy is real and significant, and you deserve proper support to carry it. You can find out more at england.nhs.uk/mental-health/perinatal.
And finally, a reminder: the nursing team will be in touch around your due date to check in on how you’re doing and to complete the necessary paperwork with you. We don’t disappear when you graduate. We’re still here, and we’re still cheering for you.
