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Emma The Embryologist

@emmatheembryologist

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From the lab, For the patient. Director of embryology and genetics @theevewell. On a mission to reduce fertility journey anxiety.

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13

2 years ago

It’s awful, misleading and it is everywhere. I have ignored it for ages but I can no longer stay quiet!

So, why is it so bad?

There is NO CONTEXT!

WHEN was the grading done?
HOW many days old is the embryo?
WHAT is the cause of infertility?
WHAT type of incubator are they in?
HAVE they been genetically tested?

Here are a few facts:

-A 2BC can be graded at 8am and, later called a 5AB at 3pm on the same day: SAME EMBRYO, its potential hasn’t changed.

-A Day 5 5AA gives you approximately a 50% chance of a baby if you are 35 or under.

-A Day 7 5AA, in the same patient, gives you a <10% chance of a baby. SAME GRADE!

-In fact, a Day 5 4CC gives you a 20-30% chance of a pregnancy in this patient, but apparently, it should be discarded?

-A Day 5 4BB will give you higher pregnancy rate than a Day 6 4AA.

-I might give an embryo a 3BC and 2 hours later my colleague might call it a 4BB… who’s right? The answer is we both are, the embryo has changed! It’s grown, it’s evolved. Equally my experience changes my lens! That doesn’t mean I’m right. It’s not about being ‘right!’

A PGT-A tested normal 4BB day 5 embryo in a 42 woman gives rise to a 55% chance of a baby. But an unscreened embryo, of the same grade, in the same woman, would have a 20% chance!

Knowledge is everything, and there is no correlation to the ‘known’ elements here

The chart tells us nothing of embryo development patterns, which, correlate highly to outcome.

All it tells us is the number and two letters a human gave it at some point.

I hate how much this must upset people. Believe me, when it comes to embryo grading there is not a chart in existence, or one that ever will be, that will be able to accurately represent this.

We are humans, you are a human. Your embryos are individual with their own chance of success. It’s nuanced, it has layers, It’s just not that simple.

If you anyone going through IVF please share this post for their own sanity! #embryograding #stopthemadness by @emmatheembryologist

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50

2 years ago

Ok This is a BIG one!! It’s taken me all week to put together as I want to make sure it’s right and helpful! ❤️

The 101 of IVF a beginners guide webinar/ podcast last weekend was brilliant, thanks to all that attended. If you want to listen the link is in bio.

The webinar taught me that there desperately needs to be an honest, un-filtered list of questions. A list of questions that, not only you need to know the answer to, but a list of questions that you should be free to ask and should receive reasonable and honest answers to allow you to feel informed.

The questions you ask in this first few meetings with a fertility clinic can help you decide whether you feel comfortable to proceed with the information you have been given. You are going to spend a long time in this clinic it’s important that you feel supported and informed.

So here is my, VERY, honest take on what you need to ask, to get the information you need, and it’s probably not what you think! 🤔

The take home message here, is never do anything that makes you feel un-heard, without seeking a second opinion. Just because one clinic can’t/won’t offer you treatment with your own eggs and sperm, does not universally mean that you have to move to a donor option, for example. If that is not what’s right for you seek advice.

Don’t forget to advocate for your family plans for the future. No matter what age you come to this, you will be older as treatment progresses and pregnancies are had. Have you managed to plan for all future situations with the clinic?

Please share with people about to go through this, or returning to do this again.

Also please comment if you think there should be more questions added to this list!

As always we are stronger together and all of our experiences will help other become better informed and less anxious.

Happy Sunday all x by @emmatheembryologist

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2 years ago

11 Years ago today

11 years of wondering why me?

Thinking of you D 🤍

Not a day goes past where I don’t

Thinking of everyone that has found this week heavy ❤️

#TFMR #babylossawareness by @emmatheembryologist

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2

a day ago

"It's not life or death. It's life or no life." 🎙️⁠
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Did you catch yesterday's episode with @emmatheembryologist? ⁠
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Emma takes us inside the IVF lab, from a 15-minute egg collection to the moment an embryo reaches blastocyst, and shares what it's like to hold people's hopes of a family in your hands.⁠
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Plus, her 3 tips to prepare for IVF: know your hormones, keep sight of the family you dreamed of, and find your people.⁠
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👉️ Tap the link in our bio to watch or listen!⁠
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#StandingOvulation #WomensHealth #IVF #FertilityJourney #Embryology by @emmatheembryologist

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2

11 days ago

Stop telling women to "just do IVF."⁠
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We sat down with @emmatheembryologist, who has spent over two decades in the IVF lab and is Chair of Trustees at Fertility Action, to go behind the lab door and break down what IVF really involves.⁠
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Inside the episode:⁠
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🌟How long IVF actually takes, from first injection to embryo transfer⁠

🌟What happens to your eggs and embryos in the lab⁠

🌟Emma's 3 tips to prepare for your IVF journey⁠
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👉️ Tap the link in our bio to watch the full episode now!⁠
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#StandingOvulation #WomensHealth #IVF #FertilityJourney #Embryology by @emmatheembryologist

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12 days ago

The biggest mistake before IVF isn’t making the wrong decision. It’s starting without enough information.

No one should feel like they have to navigate fertility treatment alone, explains @emmatheembryologist.

The more you understand about the process, the more confident you’ll feel asking questions, exploring your options, and preparing for treatment, whether that’s understanding your timeline, making recommended lifestyle changes, or simply knowing what to expect.

At The Evewell, we believe knowledge is an important part of great care. Because when patients feel informed, they’re better equipped to make decisions that are right for them.

#IVF #FertilityJourney taken in The Evewell by @emmatheembryologist

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9

2 months ago

She had no shell. No protection. By every “rule,” she should have been discarded.

But we didn’t give up on her. Every egg is someone’s chance at a family regardless of what the text books tell us!

This is the egg from my last reel, the one that popped out of its shell during stripping for ICSI. The one that’s “almost always discarded in “the majority of clinics.

We don’t like that ‘rule’ so we ICSI’d it anyway. We believe is giving everything a chance.

Then we watched what happened….. The reel is the video from the timelapse incubator

She fertilised. She grew normally. She became the BEST embryo this patient has.

Every single egg for every single patient is precious. Every embryo is not just a cell count , it’s a chance at a family that might not come again.

But this patient is 45, these are her own eggs, this literally might be her only chance. We know that potentially only 1 in 20 eggs in this female age group are genetically normal, if not Lowe

If we’d followed the “normal’ protocol, this embryo would never have existed. This chance would never have been given.

A chance is a chance. It doesn’t matter how small, how imperfect, how unlikely it looks under the microscope. If there is a chance, even one, it deserves to be tried.

Because for someone, it might be the only one.

Never assume. Never discard a possibility before you’ve given it the shot it deserves.

This is why we do what we do.

Thought you’d all like to see some magic today…… we all need a bit of magic. ❤️
#icsi #ivf #fertility embryolog by @emmatheembryologist

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23

2 months ago

A successful fertility journey isn’t defined by a single moment.

It’s defined by every conversation that leads up to it.

The best care starts with understanding what you hope your future family looks like, before making decisions about treatment. Those early conversations can shape everything that follows, explains @emmatheembryologist.

At The Evewell, we believe success isn’t just about the outcome. It’s about feeling heard, having your options explained, and knowing your care has been tailored to your goals from the very beginning.
Because the journey matters just as much as the destination.

I think the second version is particularly strong for Instagram. It feels reflective, aligns with The Evewell’s patient-first ethos, and complements the speaker’s words rather than repeating them.

#IVF #FertilityJourney taken in The Evewell by @emmatheembryologist

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3

3 months ago

Strange and unusual yes…. But not worth it? NEVER.

Sometimes during the stripping process for ICSI to happen in the IVF lab the we find an egg that either doesn’t have a shell or has ‘popped’ out of it……. These are almost always discarded in many clinics.

My point of this video, and the ones that will follow, is to show they needn’t be.

They can still be ICSI’d, they can still fertilise and they can still grow to become perfectly viable embryos.

A chance is a chance and there is simply nothing I won’t ‘attempt’ to make sure that the chance for someone ‘dreams to be achieved isn’t followed through.

This happens this week in the lab @theevewell and I have no idea what will happen to this egg but I will share some videos and keep you posted.

Keep your fingers crossed for this little fella…. They might just be the only chance this patient has.
Thoughts? 🥰 by @emmatheembryologist

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5

3 months ago

Most of us assume egg freezing and embryo freezing are basically the same thing. Emma Whitney @emmatheembryologist — Director of Embryology and Genetics at @theevewell — says the difference is massive.

When you freeze eggs, you’re freezing potential. You have no idea whether those eggs can fertilise, grow into viable embryos or go on to create a pregnancy. An embryo, on the other hand, has already run the race. By the time it reaches the blastocyst stage — five, six, seven days of growth in the lab — it has proved its capability. The ones that couldn’t make it have already dropped out. You’re freezing known potential rather than unknown.

So why doesn’t everyone just freeze embryos? Because the moment sperm enters the equation, the consent is no longer yours alone. And for women who want to preserve that autonomy, that matters enormously.

Full episode available on all podcast platforms and YouTube now. (Link in bio) by @emmatheembryologist

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3

3 months ago

You should only have to tell your story once.

Fertility treatment can ask a lot of you. And having to repeat your story at every stage shouldn’t be one of those things. @emmatheembryologist explains why collaboration is so imporant in our clinics, because when every expert works as one team, every patient feels like one person, not just another appointment.

#IVF #FertilityJourney taken in The Evewell by @emmatheembryologist

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2

3 months ago