IVF Due Date Calculator

For 5-day blastocyst transfer: Your embryo is 5 days old on transfer day. Subtract 5 days from transfer date to get conception date (egg retrieval). For example, transfer on January 20 means retrieval/conception on January 15. To find your LMP equivalent, subtract 14 more days: January 1. To calculate due date, add 266 days to conception date (January 15) = October 8. Alternatively, add 280 days to LMP equivalent (January 1) = October 8. Both methods give the same due date.

For 3-day embryo transfer: Your embryo is 3 days old on transfer day. Subtract 3 days from transfer date to get conception date. If transfer is January 18, conception was January 15. LMP equivalent is 14 days before conception: January 1. Due date is 266 days after conception (January 15) = October 8. Notice the due date is the same whether you transfer a 3-day or 5-day embryo - what matters is the conception/retrieval date, not when transfer occurred.

On transfer day, you're already "pregnant" in medical terms even though the embryo hasn't implanted yet. For a 5-day transfer, you're 2 weeks 5 days pregnant on transfer day. For a 3-day transfer, you're 2 weeks 3 days pregnant. This seems strange but aligns with standard pregnancy dating where gestational age starts from LMP, not conception or implantation. Implantation typically occurs 1-5 days after blastocyst transfer, at which point pregnancy truly begins biochemically.

With natural conception, first trimester ultrasounds often adjust due dates because ovulation timing was estimated, not known precisely. If you have irregular cycles or ovulated earlier/later than assumed, ultrasound measurements may show you're more or less advanced than LMP dating suggested. But with IVF, conception date is exact - no estimation needed. Your egg retrieval date is documented down to the hour, making your due date calculation as accurate as possible.

Even if your first trimester ultrasound shows baby measuring a few days ahead or behind, your IVF due date typically won't change. A baby measuring 8 weeks 5 days when you're 9 weeks 1 day by IVF dating is just on the smaller side of normal - it doesn't mean your conception date was wrong. Similarly, measuring ahead doesn't mean conception happened earlier. Embryo quality, genetics, and individual variation affect early growth. Unless measurements are significantly off (more than a week), IVF dates stand.

This is actually reassuring for IVF patients. After all the uncertainty of treatment, your due date is one thing you can be confident about. You don't have to wonder if your cycle was irregular or if you ovulated late. The retrieval date is fact, the transfer date is fact, and the due date calculated from those facts is as accurate as medical science can provide. Use our pregnancy week calculator to track your progress confidently knowing your dates are precise.

Fresh embryo transfer occurs in the same cycle as egg retrieval. Eggs are retrieved, fertilized, grown in the lab for 3 or 5 days, then transferred. Dating is straightforward: conception date is retrieval date, and you add embryo age to retrieval date to get transfer date. For example, retrieval January 1, grow for 5 days, transfer January 6. Conception was January 1, so due date is 266 days later.

Frozen embryo transfer (FET) occurs in a different cycle from retrieval. Embryos are frozen after being grown to day 3 or day 5, then thawed and transferred weeks, months, or even years later. The freeze-thaw process doesn't affect due date calculation - what matters is how old the embryo was when frozen. A day-5 embryo frozen in January and transferred in March is still calculated as if conception happened 5 days before transfer. The calendar date of conception shifts to accommodate this.

For FET dating, your "conception date" is a calculated date, not your actual egg retrieval date (unless it's the same cycle). If you transfer a 5-day frozen embryo on March 15, your conception date for pregnancy dating purposes is March 10, even though your actual egg retrieval might have been January 20. This adjusted conception date is used only for pregnancy dating - it makes your gestational age match your embryo's true developmental age. Track your IVF pregnancy with our specialized pregnancy month calculator.

Donor egg IVF cycles use the same due date calculation as own-egg cycles. The conception date is when the donor's eggs were retrieved and fertilized, not when they were transferred to you. If fresh donor egg transfer, conception date equals donor egg retrieval date. If frozen donor embryo, conception date is calculated backward from transfer date based on embryo age at transfer. The genetic source of the eggs doesn't affect pregnancy dating at all.

Donor embryo (embryo adoption) follows the same rules. You receive embryos that were created for another couple and later donated. These embryos were frozen at a specific developmental stage (day 3 or day 5). When transferred to you, calculate backward from transfer date: transfer date minus embryo age equals conception date for dating purposes. Your LMP equivalent is 14 days before that conception date.

Some women worry that using donor genetic material affects pregnancy dating, but it doesn't. Pregnancy length is determined by human biology, not by whose genes the embryo carries. A pregnancy from donor eggs lasts the same 266 days from conception as a pregnancy from your own eggs. The gestational timeline, fetal development milestones, and due date calculation are identical regardless of genetic source. Calculate your complete timeline with our due date calculator once you confirm pregnancy.

Most IVF clinics schedule your first beta hCG blood test 9-12 days after transfer, depending on embryo age. For 5-day blastocyst transfer, beta is typically at 9 days post-transfer (9dp5dt). For 3-day embryo transfer, beta is usually at 12 days post-transfer (12dp3dt). These timings ensure implantation has occurred and hCG has risen to detectable levels. At 9dp5dt, you're approximately 18 days past conception (9 days + 5 embryo age + 4 days for typical implantation).

Expected hCG levels vary but general guidelines exist. At 9dp5dt, hCG above 50 mIU/ml is considered positive, though successful pregnancies can start lower. At 11dp5dt, levels typically exceed 100 mIU/ml. At 14dp5dt (second beta), hCG should be over 200 mIU/ml and should have roughly doubled from the first beta. Your clinic will track these numbers and tell you if doubling is appropriate. Use our hCG doubling calculator to calculate doubling time between your beta tests.

The beta hCG test confirms pregnancy before you stop progesterone and other support medications. If your beta is positive and rising appropriately, you'll continue medications through the first trimester. Your clinic will schedule an ultrasound for around 6-7 weeks gestational age (4-5 weeks after a 5-day transfer) to check for gestational sac and heartbeat. This ultrasound is more informative than beta numbers at this point. After heartbeat is confirmed, you've crossed a major milestone and miscarriage risk drops significantly. Learn when to take a pregnancy test for home testing guidance.

At 5-6 weeks gestational age (3-4 weeks after 5-day transfer), your first ultrasound should visualize the gestational sac. This early scan confirms intrauterine pregnancy and rules out ectopic pregnancy. At 6-7 weeks gestational age (4-5 weeks post-transfer), fetal heartbeat should be visible on ultrasound. Seeing that flickering heartbeat is an incredible moment after IVF - it confirms viability and your risk of miscarriage drops to about 5%.

At 8-10 weeks, you'll "graduate" from your fertility clinic to regular OB care. This transition can feel bittersweet - you're leaving the care team that helped you conceive, but you're joining the ranks of normal pregnancies. Your OB will treat you like any other pregnant patient, though they'll note in your chart that conception was via IVF. The IVF conception method doesn't change your prenatal care - you'll follow the same schedule of appointments, tests, and ultrasounds as everyone else.

First trimester screening (NT scan) happens at 11-13 weeks, anatomy scan at 18-22 weeks, glucose test at 24-28 weeks, just like natural conception pregnancies. Your due date remains fixed based on your retrieval/conception date. Around 37 weeks you're considered term and safe for delivery if needed. At 40 weeks is your official due date, though only 5% of babies arrive on their exact due date. Most IVF pregnancies deliver within the normal range of 37-42 weeks. Plan your pregnancy with our complete pregnancy calendar showing all your important dates.

IVF singleton pregnancies have similar delivery timing to naturally conceived pregnancies. Studies show no significant difference in average gestational age at delivery between IVF and natural conception singletons. First-time mothers tend to go past 40 weeks whether conception was natural or via IVF. Women who've given birth before often deliver slightly earlier, around 39 weeks, regardless of conception method. The 37-42 week delivery window applies equally to IVF and natural pregnancies.

However, IVF pregnancies have higher rates of multiple gestation (twins or triplets), and multiples do deliver earlier on average. Twins typically arrive around 36-37 weeks, and triplets around 33-34 weeks. This earlier delivery is normal for multiples, not a complication of IVF itself. If you're having a singleton IVF pregnancy, expect normal timing - your baby will come when ready, likely somewhere in that 39-41 week range.

Some doctors are more cautious with IVF pregnancies given the difficulty achieving them, which can lead to earlier induction recommendations. If you reach 39-40 weeks with no complications, some OBs may offer elective induction rather than waiting for spontaneous labor, thinking "let's not take chances after everything you went through." This is a personal decision - IVF pregnancy doesn't medically require earlier induction, but the emotional weight of the journey factors into decision-making for some families. Discuss your preferences with your OB well before your due date. Calculate when you might go into labor with our conception calculator to understand your full timeline.

Some embryos develop slightly slower and reach blastocyst stage on day 6 rather than day 5. These "day 6 blastocysts" are still viable and can result in healthy pregnancies, though their implantation rates are slightly lower than day 5 blasts. For due date calculation, treat day 6 embryos the same as day 5 - use the 5-day calculation. The one extra day of culture doesn't significantly affect pregnancy dating.

Most clinics freeze day 6 blastocysts rather than transferring them fresh since by day 6 your endometrium may be past the implantation window. When you transfer a frozen day 6 blast, calculate as if it's day 5. The slight developmental delay doesn't change the pregnancy timeline once implantation occurs. Your clinic will guide you on dating, but the standard approach is to treat any extended culture embryo (day 6 or day 7) as day 5 equivalent for dating purposes.

If you're concerned about using day 6 embryos, remember that what matters is embryo quality (grading) more than whether it reached blast on day 5 or 6. A high-grade day 6 blast has better potential than a low-grade day 5 blast. Slower development to blastocyst doesn't predict slower pregnancy progression or earlier/later delivery. Once pregnancy is established, it follows the normal timeline regardless of whether your embryo was day 3, day 5, or day 6 at transfer.