After an embryo transfer in India, most international patients fly home within a few days and do the pregnancy test at home, about two weeks after the transfer. From that point your Indian clinic and a doctor where you live share your care: the Indian clinic interprets the early results and tells you how long to continue medication, while your local doctor or maternity service takes over scans and antenatal care. The handover between them is where gaps most often occur, so it should be arranged before you leave India.
Key points
- Arrange a local lab for the beta hCG blood test, and a doctor for early scans, before you travel to India.
- Leave India with a written handover letter and a written medication plan covering every possible result.
- Do not stop or change progesterone or oestrogen without explicit instructions from your clinic.
- For pain, heavy bleeding, breathlessness or other warning signs, seek local medical care first and inform the clinic afterwards.
- Agree in advance how results are shared, who replies, and how quickly, allowing for the time difference.
Before you leave India: get a handover letter
Ask your clinic for a written summary addressed to “the treating doctor” that you can give to whoever looks after you at home. It should ideally include:
- Your name, date of birth and clinic reference number
- The type of cycle (fresh or frozen), the date of embryo transfer, and the number and stage of embryos transferred
- Any genetic testing results for the transferred embryo(s), if PGT was done
- A full medication list: each drug, the dose, how it is taken, and the date or milestone at which the clinic expects you to stop or review it
- Your blood group and any relevant blood results
- Any complications during the cycle, such as signs of ovarian hyperstimulation (OHSS)
- How many embryos remain frozen, and where
- The name, email and phone number of the doctor or coordinator to contact
Ask for it in English (or your preferred language if the clinic can provide it), on letterhead, and as a PDF by email as well as on paper. Keep it with your other documents — see what records to carry for IVF.
Flying home after the transfer
Many clinics suggest waiting a day or two after transfer before a long flight, mainly for comfort and so you are close by if anything needs checking. There is no good evidence that air pressure affects implantation. What matters more on a long-haul flight is taking your medication on time (set alarms in both time zones), staying hydrated, walking the aisle and asking your clinic whether compression stockings suit you. If you had an egg retrieval on the same trip, ask about the risk of OHSS before you book the flight. For the phase-by-phase version, see can you travel during IVF?
The pregnancy test at home
Your clinic will tell you the exact day, but it is usually around two weeks after transfer. Most clinics want a blood test for beta hCG, not just a home urine test, because it gives a number they can interpret and track.
Arranging the blood test
- Arrange this before you fly to India. Find a lab, GP, private clinic or fertility clinic at home that will draw blood for beta hCG and give you the result the same or next day.
- Ask whether you need a referral. In some systems a doctor's request form is required; in others you can walk into a private lab and pay.
- Ask for the actual number, with units, not just “positive” or “negative”.
Sharing the result with India
Send a photo or PDF of the lab report to your coordinator on the channel the clinic asked you to use, and say which day after transfer the test was taken. Your clinic may ask for a repeat test a couple of days later to see whether the level is rising as expected. Agree in advance who will reply to you and roughly how quickly — remembering the time difference (see communicating with an Indian clinic across time zones).
Preparing your local doctor before you travel
A brief appointment with your own doctor before you go to India makes the return much smoother. At that appointment, you can:
- Explain that you are having IVF abroad and roughly when you expect to return and test.
- Ask whether they can arrange a beta hCG blood test and early scan, or who can.
- Ask whether they are willing to prescribe continuing medication if your supply runs short.
- Agree how you will share the Indian clinic's handover letter with them.
- Ask how to register for antenatal care locally, and at what stage.
Some doctors are cautious about treatment arranged abroad. A clear, factual explanation and a promise of full written records usually help. If your own doctor cannot help, a private fertility clinic near home may offer blood tests and scans on a pay-per-visit basis.
An illustrative timeline
The timeline below is an example only; your clinic will set the actual days. It shows how responsibilities typically pass from the Indian clinic to your local care.
| Stage | Where | Main tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer day | India | Collect handover letter, written medication plan and any remaining prescriptions |
| One to three days after transfer | Travel | Fly home; keep medication in hand luggage; take doses on time across time zones |
| About two weeks after transfer | Home | Beta hCG blood test; send the numerical result to the clinic |
| A few days later, if requested | Home | Repeat blood test to check the level is rising as expected |
| A few weeks after a positive test | Home | Early ultrasound scan; report sent to the Indian clinic |
| When the clinic advises | Home | Medication tapered or stopped on the clinic's instruction; routine antenatal care continues locally |
Keep taking your medication as prescribed
After transfer, most patients are on progesterone support, and after a frozen transfer many are also on oestrogen. Clinics commonly continue these into early pregnancy, and the stop date varies by clinic and by cycle type. The key rules are simple:
- Don't stop or change any medication without explicit instructions from your clinic, even after a positive test.
- Make sure you have enough supply to last until the planned stop date, plus a margin. Check before you leave India whether the same drugs are available at home and whether you'll need a local prescription.
- If a local doctor wants to change your medication, ask them to talk to your Indian clinic first, or at least to see the handover letter.
- Carry medicines in your hand luggage with a doctor's letter; see flying with IVF medications.
Medication supply and prescriptions across borders
Running short of progesterone at home is one of the most common practical problems after treatment abroad. Some preparations used in India may not be sold in your country, or may be sold under a different brand name or in a different form (for example injections rather than pessaries). Before you leave India:
- Count how many doses you need until the clinic's planned review date, and add a margin for delays.
- Ask the clinic for a prescription that lists the generic (non-brand) name, strength, form and dose of each medicine.
- Check the rules for bringing medicines into your country. Some countries limit quantities or require a prescription or doctor's letter.
- Ask your local doctor, before you travel, whether they would be willing to prescribe equivalent medication if needed.
- If an equivalent is proposed at home, confirm with the Indian clinic that it is an acceptable substitute before switching.
Early scans and moving into antenatal care
If your test is positive, the next milestone is usually an early ultrasound scan, often a few weeks later, to check that the pregnancy is in the womb, how many embryos have implanted, and whether a heartbeat can be seen. Your Indian clinic will suggest timing; the scan itself is normally done at home.
How that works depends on where you live:
| Where you live | What to arrange |
|---|---|
| A country with a public health service (for example the UK or Ireland) | Register with your GP or local maternity service once the test is positive. An early scan may need a private booking if the public service won't offer one at the time your clinic wants. |
| An insurance-based system (for example the US or the Gulf) | Check what your policy covers for pregnancy after treatment abroad, and book with an obstetrician who accepts it. Some policies have waiting periods for maternity cover. |
| Anywhere | Consider a private early scan if you want it sooner. Send the report back to your Indian clinic. |
Tell your local doctor or midwife that the pregnancy followed IVF, and give them the handover letter. IVF pregnancies are usually cared for like any other, but the dating, number of embryos transferred and your medication all matter to them.
When to seek urgent care
Your Indian clinic cannot examine you from abroad. If any of the following happen, contact a local doctor, urgent care service or emergency department first, and let the clinic know afterwards:
- Signs of OHSS (mainly after a fresh cycle with egg retrieval): a swollen, painful abdomen that is getting worse, rapid weight gain over a day or two, nausea or vomiting, passing much less urine than usual, or shortness of breath.
- Heavy vaginal bleeding, especially with clots or cramping. Light spotting is fairly common in early pregnancy, but ask your clinic and seek care if it becomes heavy or you are worried.
- Severe or one-sided pain in the lower abdomen, pain at the tip of the shoulder, or feeling faint — these can be signs of an ectopic pregnancy, which needs urgent assessment.
- Chest pain, sudden breathlessness, or a swollen, painful calf, especially after a long flight, which can be signs of a blood clot.
- A high fever or feeling very unwell.
Keep the handover letter on your phone so any doctor you see can read your treatment details straight away.
If an early scan raises concerns
Early scans sometimes show a pregnancy that is not developing as expected, or cannot confirm where the pregnancy is located. In that case, your local doctor or early pregnancy service will usually arrange follow-up tests or scans, and will take the lead on any clinical decisions, since they can examine you. Send the reports to your Indian clinic as well, so that it can advise on medication and record the outcome. Ask both teams to communicate directly if their advice appears to differ.
If the result is negative
Receiving a negative result at home, far from the clinic that treated you, can be very isolating. Ask your clinic what to do with your medication, and give yourself time before making decisions about the next attempt. When you are ready, ask for a follow-up video consultation to review the cycle. See surviving a failed IVF cycle and emotional support during IVF abroad. If you have frozen embryos left, the next step may be a shorter frozen embryo transfer trip.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Testing too early at home. Home urine tests taken before the recommended day can give misleading results, partly because of medication. Wait for the clinic's test date.
- Sending “positive” without a number. The clinic needs the numerical beta hCG value and the day after transfer on which it was taken.
- Stopping medication after a negative home test. Wait for the blood result and the clinic's instruction.
- Assuming the local doctor knows the protocol. Provide the handover letter at the first appointment.
- Waiting for India in an emergency. Local urgent care comes first; the clinic can be updated afterwards.
- Overlooking insurance. Check before you travel whether your policy covers pregnancy care, and complications, after treatment abroad.
A simple checklist
- Before travelling to India: line up a lab for beta hCG and a local doctor for early scans.
- Before leaving India: handover letter, written medication plan, enough medicine, named contact.
- On the flight: medication alarms, water, movement.
- Test day: blood test, send the number, confirm who replies.
- If positive: continue medication as told, book early scan, register for antenatal care.
- If negative: ask about medication, book a review call, look after yourself.
Next steps
If you are still planning your trip, choose a clinic that will stay engaged after you fly home — the “International-ready” clinics listed on our international patients page have told us they offer a named coordinator and video consultations. For the wait itself, read surviving the two-week wait.