Does Exercise or Stress Affect IVF Transfer Success? Here's What the New Research Says
When You’re Told to Lie Down and Hope
If you've ever been told to “just rest” after embryo transfer or silently blamed yourself for being stressed during the two-week wait, you’re not alone. These are some of the most emotionally loaded questions in IVF care:
Should I stop exercising after my transfer?
Can stress really prevent implantation?
Did I do something wrong?
A new 2025 study in Fertility and Sterility offers more clarity. And while it doesn’t answer every question, it gives us something deeply meaningful: evidence-based reassurance.
What This Study Actually Looked At
Let’s be clear upfront:
This study looked specifically at the frozen embryo transfer (FET) phase of IVF — not the stimulation, egg retrieval, or fresh transfer process.
Researchers followed 82 women undergoing a fully medicated FET cycle, meaning their uterine lining was prepared with estradiol and progesterone (not through natural ovulation). This is a very common protocol, especially for patients transferring previously frozen embryos, including those using PGT-A-tested embryos, donor eggs, or working with a gestational carrier.
Each participant:
Wore a FitBit Charge 5 starting at the beginning of hormone treatment through the day before their pregnancy test (around 30 days total), covering pre and post-transfer activity.
Provided salivary cortisol samples two days before embryo transfer to measure physiological stress.
Completed a validated questionnaire (Fertility Problem Inventory) to assess perceived infertility-related stress.
This is one of the first studies to combine wearable health tech, physiological data, and real-time behavior tracking during a transfer cycle.
Key Findings
Exercise did not affect pregnancy rates. Whether participants moved more or less before or after the transfer, there was no difference in outcomes.
Stress didn’t predict success or failure. Both self-reported stress and cortisol levels were similar between those who got pregnant and those who didn’t.
Calories burned, heart rate, and sleep patterns didn’t matter either.
A small trend emerged: people who increased their step count after transfer were slightly more likely to conceive. Those who decreased movement had lower pregnancy rates, but this difference was subtle, and needs more study.
Why This Matters
In my work with individuals going through IVF, I often hear many fears around physical movement and stress:
“Will I ruin it if I exercise?"
"Will I ruin it if I am sedentary?”
Am I too stressed for it to work?
The real question: "Am I damned if I do, damned if I don’t?"
This study is small, but powerful. It reminds us that being human, that having a body that moves, a mind that worries, is not incompatible with becoming pregnant.
While this study is limited in size and focused solely on fully medicated frozen transfers, it marks a meaningful step forward in understanding a long-debated topic. If this is your protocol, the findings offer a grounded, science-backed response to questions that so many patients carry with fear and self-doubt.
Yes, more research is needed.
Yes, it would be helpful to have data on fresh cycles or natural FETs too.
But for now? We can say with confidence: you didn’t ruin it by walking the dog or feeling anxious.
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