Preparing for IVF: Key Emotional and Hormonal Changes to Expect

Starting IVF can feel overwhelming. Between medical appointments, injection schedules, and countless decisions, your body and mind are about to go through significant changes.

Understanding what lies ahead can help you feel more prepared and in control of this important journey.

What Happens to Your Body During IVF Stimulation

IVF involves several phases, each bringing its own physical and emotional shifts. The stimulation phase, when you receive hormone injections to encourage multiple eggs to mature simultaneously, tends to have the most noticeable effects.

According to research, approximately 3% to 8% of women experience moderate to severe responses to fertility medications during IVF cycles. Your body is receiving hormones designed to override its natural cycle, which creates predictable side effects.

Common Physical Side Effects

During ovarian stimulation, you may experience:

• Bloating and abdominal discomfort (sometimes significant)
• Breast tenderness and sensitivity
• Headaches and persistent fatigue
• Mood swings and irritability
• Injection site reactions, such as bruising or soreness
• Hot flashes and temperature fluctuations

Your ovaries may swell to several times their normal size during stimulation, which explains much of the abdominal discomfort many women experience. Wearing loose, comfortable clothing during this phase can help significantly.

Understanding how hormones work in your body provides helpful context for why these side effects occur and what your system is experiencing.

The Emotional Rollercoaster of IVF Hormones

The hormonal changes during IVF preparation affect far more than your physical body. Many women report feeling like they're on an emotional rollercoaster, experiencing rapid mood shifts that can feel confusing or completely out of character.

Research has found that up to 40% of women undergoing IVF report clinically significant levels of anxiety during treatment. This isn't surprising; your brain and hormones are deeply interconnected, and the surge of fertility medications can temporarily affect emotional regulation in profound ways.

Common Emotional Experiences

You may notice:

• Heightened anxiety about treatment outcomes and the future
• Unexpected tearfulness or emotional sensitivity to minor triggers
• Difficulty concentrating or brain fog
• Irritability with loved ones, even over small issues
• Feelings of isolation or being misunderstood

Here's what's important to understand: These emotional responses are not a sign of weakness or inability to handle the process. Your brain is responding to dramatic hormonal fluctuations while simultaneously navigating an intensely stressful situation. The combination creates a perfect storm for emotional volatility.

Similar to how women experience mood changes during the luteal phase or those with PMDD experience severe emotional symptoms, IVF hormones affect the same neurological pathways, just with even more dramatic shifts.

A Brain-First Approach to IVF Support

Here's what conventional IVF preparation often overlooks: your brain plays the central role in how you experience hormonal changes. Every symptom, from anxiety to physical discomfort to mood swings, is processed through your nervous system.

Samphire Neuroscience takes a brain-first approach to hormonal health, recognizing that addressing how your brain responds to hormonal shifts creates more comprehensive support during challenging transitions like IVF.

Track Your Patterns and Build Resilience

The Samphire App provides guided breathwork and personalized tracking, helping you understand patterns in mood, energy, and physical symptoms throughout your treatment. With over 80 meditations and active practices, plus neuroplasticity exercises designed to support your nervous system, you gain practical tools for managing stress and building emotional resilience.

The app's free-form symptom logging lets you track IVF-specific experiences in your own words, helping you identify what interventions help most and when you need additional support.

Brain-Based Support During Hormonal Transitions

For those in the UK and EU: If you're experiencing hormonal challenges leading up to IVF, Nettle™ is a Class IIa medical device clinically proven to reduce menstrual pain and relieve low mood. Using gentle non-invasive brain stimulation (tDCS) for just 20 minutes a day, a few days each cycle, Nettle™ targets the motor cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to support focus and emotional regulation during hormonal fluctuations, helping you enter IVF treatment from a more balanced baseline.

For those in the US, Canada, and 47 other countries: Lutea™ uses the same neuroscience-backed tDCS technology as a general wellness product designed to support wellbeing during hormonal transitions. By boosting neuroplasticity, your brain's ability to form new neural connections and adapt to change, Lutea™ helps support emotional regulation when hormones shift dramatically, as they do during IVF stimulation.

Both devices work by addressing how your brain processes hormonal changes rather than just masking symptoms. Learn more about how neurostimulation devices work for hormonal health.

94% of users feel better in just three months.

Additional Emotional Support Strategies

Beyond brain-based tools, consider:

• Setting boundaries with well-meaning but overwhelming questions from family
• Connecting with support groups of others going through fertility treatment
• Maintaining activities that bring joy, even when energy is low
• Communicating openly with your partner about how you're feeling
• Working with a therapist who specializes in fertility issues

Your IVF Preparation Checklist

Preparing your body and mind before starting treatment can help reduce stress and optimize your chances of success.

Physical Preparation

Before you begin stimulation:

• Review all medications with your clinic and understand the injection schedule thoroughly
• Stock up on comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and heating pads for bloating
• Prepare or freeze nutritious meals in advance for days when cooking feels exhausting
• Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake as recommended by your doctor
• Establish a consistent sleep schedule to support hormone regulation
• Stay well-hydrated, as dehydration worsens many side effects

Mental and Emotional Preparation

Build your support foundation:

• Practice stress reduction techniques like breathwork before treatment begins
• Identify your support system and let them know specifically what kind of help you'll need
• Clear your schedule of non-essential commitments during the stimulation phase
• Prepare a self-care toolkit with items that bring comfort (books, comfort foods, favorite shows)
• Consider journaling to process emotions throughout the journey

Understanding signs of hormonal imbalance before starting IVF helps you distinguish between normal side effects and symptoms that warrant medical attention.

Dos and Don'ts During IVF Stimulation

Managing daily life during IVF stimulation requires some adjustments to protect your well-being.

Do:

• Stay hydrated with plenty of water and electrolyte-rich drinks
• Continue gentle movement like walking, but avoid high-impact exercise
• Take medications at consistent times each day for optimal effectiveness
• Track symptoms and report concerns to your clinic promptly
• Rest when your body asks for it. Fatigue is real and deserves respect
• Eat nourishing foods that support your energy levels

Don't:

• Push through exhaustion or ignore warning signs from your body
• Compare your experience to others; everybody responds differently
• Make major life decisions during peak hormonal moments
• Isolate yourself from supportive relationships
• Skip appointments or adjust medication doses without clinical guidance
• Expect to feel "normal" when you're undergoing a significant medical intervention

Addressing Common IVF Concerns

Does IVF Cause Early Menopause?

One common worry is whether IVF accelerates ovarian aging or causes early menopause. Current research suggests that IVF does not deplete your egg reserve in a way that would cause premature menopause.

Here's why: Your ovaries contain a finite number of eggs from birth. Each month, multiple eggs begin to mature, but typically only one becomes dominant while the others are naturally reabsorbed. IVF simply captures eggs that would otherwise have been lost during that cycle anyway; it doesn't pull from your future reserve.

If you have concerns about long-term ovarian health, discuss them with your reproductive endocrinologist, who can provide personalized information based on your specific situation.

Managing Ongoing Hormonal Side Effects

Working with your body rather than against it during IVF can help minimize discomfort and emotional distress. Brain-based approaches to managing hormone fluctuations recognize that your neurological and hormonal systems are deeply connected, addressing one supports the other.

If you experience severe mood swings, persistent anxiety, or overwhelming emotional symptoms, don't hesitate to discuss them with your medical team. Additional support, whether through counseling, medication adjustments, or complementary approaches, can make a significant difference in your experience.