After a transfer, there is no evidence that gentle swimming hinders implantation. After egg retrieval, you should wait a few days before going for a swim. And in summer, it’s the heat – rather than the water – that you need to watch out for, both for your own sake and for your medication.
“Can I go to the swimming pool after embryo transfer?” This question comes up every summer, when a stay in Greece feels like a holiday. My answer boils down to three points, and the first is reassuring: after a transfer, no study has shown that gentle swimming hinders implantation.
After an egg retrieval, however, you should avoid baths, swimming pools and the sea for a few days, as a precaution. And in all cases, you should avoid extreme heat: spas, saunas and very hot baths. Here are the details, step by step, and my advice for a summer holiday in Thessaloniki.
During the transfer, the embryo is placed into the uterine cavity using a very fine catheter, without anaesthesia or any incision. There is no evidence to suggest that swimming causes the embryo to ‘come out’, any more than walking does. What has been studied is bed rest, and the answer is clear: NICE, the body that publishes clinical guidelines for the English health service, states in its 2026 guidance that bed rest for more than twenty minutes after the transfer does not improve outcomes.
As for swimming itself, I am not aware of any studies, either to suggest that it is harmful or to suggest that it has no effect. Guidelines may therefore vary from one clinic to another: follow those of your own clinic. Very hot water, on the other hand, should be avoided for another reason, which I explain below. The remainder of the waiting period is described in the twelve days following the transfer.
Egg retrieval is a different procedure. The needle passes through the vaginal wall to reach each ovary, leaving small wounds. Complications are rare: in a large study of 23,827 egg retrievals published in 2018, they affected 0.4 per cent of procedures. The risk of infection, however low, explains the caution advised afterwards.
Guidelines from public hospital departments are similar, though the recommended timeframes vary. A Swiss department advises avoiding baths, swimming pools, spas and saunas after egg retrieval, and recommends using sanitary towels rather than tampons in the days that follow. A Quebec department advises avoiding baths, tampons and swimming for seven days, whilst showering remains permitted. The sea falls into the same category as swimming pools.
In practice: showering is fine; the sea and swimming pools are not permitted until the clinic gives the go-ahead. If a fresh embryo transfer is scheduled a few days later, the issue resolves itself: you’ll be staying dry until then anyway. The full procedure is set out in the egg retrieval, hour by hour. During stimulation, before the egg retrieval, ask the clinic: activity guidelines may depend on how you respond to the treatment.
The issue with hot water isn’t the water itself, but body temperature at the very start of pregnancy. The UK’s information service on medicines during pregnancy describes a theoretical concern, based mainly on animal studies: a body temperature rising to around 40 °C could increase the risk of neural tube defects. It notes that, in non-pregnant women, it took at least fifteen minutes in a 39 °C bath to reach this level, and that a single study, involving around 1,000 women, linked the use of a hot tub in early pregnancy to an approximately twofold increased risk of miscarriage – a link that requires further confirmation.
Whilst waiting for the results after an embryo transfer, it is not yet known whether you are pregnant. I therefore advise avoiding spas, hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms and very hot baths until the test result is known, and beyond that if the result is positive. A swimming pool or the sea, which are cooler than body temperature, do not pose the same risk.
I am not aware of any study showing that the sun itself is harmful to IVF. What matters is heat and dehydration. In Thessaloniki, July is the hottest month: the average maximum temperature there reaches 32 °C, according to the Aristotle University weather station, and the station’s record high is 43 °C, set in July 2007. After an egg retrieval, one of the services mentioned above recommends drinking around two litres of water a day.
This is the most practical consideration for the summer. For follitropin alfa in pen form (Gonal-f), for example, the European package leaflet states that it must be stored in the fridge, between 2 and 8 °C, and must not be frozen. Before opening, the pen may be kept out of the fridge at temperatures up to 25 °C for a single period of no more than three months. However, in July, the average maximum temperature in Thessaloniki exceeds 30 °C.
Prices, prescriptions and the cold chain are detailed in IVF medication in Greece, and the transport of pens on a plane during IVF.
| Time | Swimming pools and the sea | Spas, saunas, very hot baths |
|---|---|---|
| During stimulation | ask your clinic | ask your clinic |
| After egg retrieval | avoid for a few days, sometimes a week; showering is still possible | avoid |
| After the transfer | no studies show any effect; follow your clinic’s instructions | to be avoided until the test |
| Positive test | to be discussed with the doctor monitoring the pregnancy | to be avoided |
Enjoy the sea at the right time: a few days after egg retrieval, with the clinic’s approval. After an embryo transfer, a gentle swim in cool water is fine if your clinic has no objections, but avoid spas and saunas until the test. And keep your medication cool.
If you’re still unsure about the best time of year for your holiday, see when to go for IVF in Greece. If you’d like to organise a summer holiday around your treatment, with accommodation close to the clinic and a fridge in your room, please write to me.
No studies have shown that gentle swimming hinders implantation, and prolonged bed rest does not improve outcomes. Guidelines vary between clinics: follow your clinic’s advice, and avoid very hot water, spas and saunas until the test.
Generally a few days. Some public hospital departments advise avoiding baths, swimming pools and spas after egg retrieval – one of them for seven days – to minimise the risk of infection. Showering is still permitted. Check with your clinic before going to the seaside.
They raise your body temperature, which is best avoided at the very start of pregnancy. As you do not yet know whether you are pregnant whilst waiting for the results, I advise avoiding them until you have taken the test, and beyond that if the result is positive.
Yes, taking the usual summer precautions: stay in the shade during the hottest part of the day, drink plenty of water and wear a hat. The real risk concerns your medication: some, such as Gonal-f, must be kept in the fridge and must not exceed 25 °C when taken out.
Source: https://fertilitegrece.com/en/blog/swimming-sun-ivf-greece/ — Triada Baloukoudis, IVF patient coordination in Greece. General information, not medical or legal advice. Printed on
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