Waiting to find out if you are pregnant is stressful, especially after IVF or FET. To keep the beta test result wait from completely taking over your life, make a plan of action in advance. While there is no way to not think about becoming pregnant, it is helpful to find comforting distractions and reduce obsessive thoughts. Most beta test days are typically 10-12 days post-transfer, then there is a secondary wait for the actual beta result, which can seem unbearable.
Use mindfulness to help let go of what you can’t control. You can’t control the outcome, but you can control your response. Find a mantra that helps, such as ‘so far, so good’ or ‘my body is ready to be pregnant’ to ground and center yourself.
Try to control obsessive thoughts re pregnancy symptoms, and resist the urge to take a pregnancy test before your beta hcg test. It’s truly too early to tell.
Stay busy: connect with friends; spend time with your partner not focused on pregnancy; practice calming rituals; do creative projects; deep breathe; get outside into nature; clean your house; or distract with reading fiction or watching relaxing media.
If you find yourself obsessing too much in unhealthy ways, give yourself up to 10 mins/day to structure formal worry time to express or write down all of your worries and then let go and move on with your day.
Sitting in uncertainty is challenging; waiting to find out if you are pregnant after a long infertility journey even more so. Make sure to continue to live your life and be hopeful, open and curious to what may happen next.