TL;DR: The IVF process, step by step, usually includes an initial consultation, fertility testing, ovarian stimulation, a trigger shot, egg retrieval, fertilization in the lab, embryo development, embryo transfer, and a pregnancy blood test about 10 to 14 days later.
While a single IVF cycle may take several weeks, the full timeline can vary based on your body, test results, and treatment plan.
At King Square Fertility in Markham, patients are guided through each stage with clear explanations, personalized care, and support before, during, and after treatment.
If you’re considering IVF, speak with your family doctor about getting a referral, then book an appointment to begin the conversation.
You may already know the basics of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Eggs, sperm, a lab, embryos, and the two-week wait.
But when you start thinking about IVF for yourself, those pieces can still feel hard to put together.
What happens first? How long does everything take? When do you make decisions? And when is it a matter of waiting to see how your body responds?
At King Square Fertility in Markham, many patients come in with the same question: “What will IVF be like for me?” Our guide walks through the IVF process step by step, from your first consultation to embryo transfer, so you can feel more prepared and know what to expect at each stage.
Before medications, monitoring, or procedures begin, IVF starts with a consultation. This first appointment gives you and your fertility specialist time to discuss your history, concerns, and what may make sense for your situation.
Your specialist will review your medical history, any previous pregnancies or fertility treatments, and any test results you already have. If you haven’t had fertility testing yet, this appointment may help decide which tests should come first.
For women, testing may include blood work to check ovarian reserve, often through anti-Mullerian hormone, or AMH, and an ultrasound to count antral follicles, which are small fluid-filled sacs in the ovaries that contain immature eggs.
For men, testing usually includes a semen analysis to assess sperm count, motility, and morphology.
Once your fertility specialist has reviewed your test results, they’ll create a treatment plan tailored to your needs. This is the stage where the IVF process becomes a little more hands-on.
In a typical menstrual cycle, the ovaries usually release one mature egg. During IVF, fertility medications are used to encourage several follicles to grow at the same time.
The goal is to collect multiple eggs in a single cycle, giving you more opportunities for fertilization and embryo development.
Ovarian stimulation usually lasts about eight to 14 days. During this time, you’ll give yourself daily injections, typically in the lower abdomen.
As your ovaries respond, it’s normal to experience some bloating, mild discomfort, or a feeling of fullness.
Throughout this phase, you’ll visit the clinic regularly for monitoring appointments, usually every two to three days. These visits involve blood work and ultrasounds so your care team can track follicle growth, monitor hormone levels, and adjust your medications if needed.
When your follicles reach a certain size, typically around 18 to 20 millimetres, your care team will instruct you to take a "trigger shot." This injection (often human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, or a synthetic alternative) prompts the final maturation of the eggs inside the follicles.
The timing of this shot is precise. Egg retrieval must occur approximately 34 to 36 hours after the trigger, before ovulation occurs naturally. Your clinic will give you exact instructions, including the time to inject, down to the minute.
This is one of the moments in IVF where timing isn’t flexible. Missing the window or injecting at the wrong time can affect the outcome of the retrieval.
Egg retrieval is a minor surgical procedure that typically lasts 15 to 30 minutes. It’s performed under sedation, so you won’t feel pain during the procedure, though you may feel groggy afterward.
Using ultrasound guidance, your physician gently collects fluid from each follicle with a thin needle. That fluid is then passed to the embryology team, who carefully examines it to identify and count the retrieved eggs.
Not every follicle contains a mature egg. It’s normal for the number of eggs retrieved to be lower than the number of follicles seen on ultrasound. Your care team will share the count with you after the procedure and explain what comes next.
Recovery from egg retrieval is usually straightforward. Most patients experience cramping and bloating for a day or two. Strenuous activity should be avoided until your body feels ready, and your clinic will provide specific aftercare instructions.
For patients using sperm from a male partner, the sample is usually collected on the same day as the egg retrieval. If donor sperm is used, it is typically prepared in advance.
After egg retrieval, the eggs and sperm are brought together in the lab. This is where the “in vitro” part of IVF happens, meaning fertilization takes place outside the body.
There are two main ways this can happen. With conventional insemination, eggs and sperm are placed together in a dish so fertilization can occur naturally. With intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI, a single sperm is carefully injected into each mature egg.
ICSI may be recommended when sperm count or movement is lower, or when there have been concerns with fertilization in a previous IVF cycle.
The morning after retrieval, the embryology team checks how many eggs have been fertilized. This number may be lower than the number of eggs retrieved, which is expected. Not every egg fertilizes, and not every fertilized egg continues developing into an embryo.
Over the next few days, the embryology team carefully monitors the embryos as they grow and divide.
By day three, an embryo may have around six to eight cells. By day five or six, it may reach the blastocyst stage, which is a more advanced stage with cells that can later form the baby and the placenta.
The IVF process can feel like a lot to hold at once, especially when every stage comes with its own timing, decisions, and emotions. But you don’t have to understand it all on your own before you begin.
At King Square Fertility in Markham, our team walks you through the IVF process step by step, from your first consultation and fertility testing to ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, fertilization, embryo development, and transfer.
If you’re considering IVF, speak with your family doctor about getting a referral. When you’re ready, we’re here to help you take the process one clear step at a time.
It’s completely normal to feel nervous about the injections at first. Thankfully, the needles used for IVF medications are very small, similar to those used for insulin.
Most patients describe the injections as a brief pinch or mild discomfort rather than pain.
In many cases, yes. Most patients continue working, attending school, and engaging in their usual activities during IVF treatment.
However, the monitoring phase does require some flexibility, as you may need early morning appointments every few days for bloodwork and ultrasounds.
Around the time of egg retrieval, some patients choose to take a day or two off to rest, depending on how they feel.
If this happens, your care team will sit down with you, review the cycle, explain what may have happened, and discuss your options moving forward.
Some patients choose to try another cycle with adjustments to their treatment plan, while others take time to consider what feels right for them. Whatever you decide, you won’t have to navigate those conversations alone.
IVF is too important to move through feeling confused, rushed, or unsure of what comes next.
You deserve a fertility team that explains each stage clearly, answers your questions honestly, and builds a treatment plan around your body, your results, and your goals.
At King Square Fertility in Markham, we guide patients across the Greater Toronto Area through the IVF process step by step, from fertility testing and ovarian stimulation to egg retrieval, fertilization, embryo development, and embryo transfer.
Speak with your family doctor about a referral to King Square Fertility. Then, book an appointment with our team to begin the conversation and get the answers you need to move forward.
