What IVF Nurses Wish Every Patient Knew

Fertility nurses see more of the IVF journey than almost anyone. In this episode Dr Raelia Lew talks with IVF nurse Lucy Elam about what happens behind the scenes during a cycle, and what she wishes every patient knew before day one.

Your nurse is with you from beginning to end

Lucy came to IVF nursing from paediatric nursing, including supporting children and families through fertility preservation before chemotherapy and other gonadotoxic treatments. Across a treatment cycle it is the fertility nurse who walks patients through injections, scans, procedures and results, translating the clinical plan into manageable steps.

Feeling overwhelmed is normal

Starting IVF often comes with information overload, and Raelia and Lucy discuss the emotions patients commonly experience when beginning treatment. Personality and organisation styles differ, and part of the nurse's role is breaking the process down so it never has to be held in your head all at once.

The hardest part is the loss of control

From the uncertainty of ovarian stimulation to the emotional two-week wait after an embryo transfer or IUI, not being able to control every outcome is one of the hardest realities of IVF. Lucy explains how patients can maintain some normality while staying closely connected with their clinical team.

Waiting for the blood test matters

Clinics recommend waiting for a pregnancy blood test for good reason, and low or unclear HCG results need careful interpretation. Lucy and Raelia talk about how nurses deliver both negative and positive news, and how they carry the emotional weight of that work.

Planning for the family you want

The conversation also covers egg freezing after a relationship breakdown, planning ahead for future children through embryo banking, age-related changes in egg quality, and the emotional and practical considerations surrounding donor eggs. Through it all, teamwork between doctors, nurses and embryologists is what carries patients forward.