Your fertility treatment pathway explained

Starting fertility treatment can feel like stepping into a world with its own language. AMH, AFC, ICSI, stimulation, consent forms, treatment plans, medication delivery, embryo transfer. It’s a lot, and when you’re already carrying the emotional weight of trying to conceive, the practical side can feel overwhelming too.

This guide is here to make the pathway feel clearer. Not because every journey is the same, because it isn’t. But because knowing the usual steps can help you feel more prepared and more in control.

At Care Fertility, we’ll guide you through each stage, from your first enquiry to your treatment planning meeting and beyond.

Quick jump:

Step 1: Your first enquiry

Your first step is getting in touch with our patient enquiry team. They’ll listen to what’s brought you to Care Fertility, answer your initial questions, and help book the right appointments.

One of the most important things to know is that fertility tests are booked before your consultation with a fertility specialist. This means your fertility specialist has your results ready when you meet, so they can explain what they show and talk through your options with proper context.

It’s a more useful way to spend your consultation. Rather than leaving with a list of tests to arrange, you leave with a clearer idea of what may be happening and what you could do next.

If you’d like to understand the different types of testing before you speak to us, you can explore our fertility tests.

Step 2: Fertility testing before your consultation

Your tests will depend on your circumstances. If you’re having treatment as an individual, your tests may look slightly different from a couple’s assessment. If sperm is involved, semen analysis is usually part of the picture.

Fertility testing may include blood tests such as AMH, which helps assess ovarian reserve, as well as a pelvic ultrasound scan to look at the ovaries, uterus, and antral follicle count. A semen analysis can assess sperm count, movement, and shape.

These tests help your fertility specialist build a fuller picture before recommending treatment. They also help avoid guesswork, which matters when you’re making decisions that can feel big, personal, and time-sensitive.

If you’re planning to start fertility treatment soon, our pre-treatment bundle includes the key tests and assessments needed before your fertility specialist consultation, helping your team build a personalised plan from the first step.

Step 3: Your fertility specialist consultation

Once your test results are available, you’ll meet with a fertility specialist. They’ll review your results, talk through your medical history, and explain what your options may be.

This might include IVF, ICSI, donor treatment, fertility preservation, further investigations, or another approach. Your fertility specialist will also talk through what may be realistic for your situation, including any risks, timings, or factors that could affect treatment.

If IVF has been recommended and you’d like a refresher on what it involves, you can read our guide to IVF basics: what is it and how does it work?.

If sperm quality is a key factor, your fertility specialist may discuss ICSI. You can learn more in our blog, what is ICSI and could it work for me?.

Step 4: Your consultation summary and costs

After your consultation, you’ll receive a summary through your treatment companion app, Salve. This will include the treatment options discussed, recommended next steps, and cost estimates.

This part really matters. Fertility appointments can contain a lot of information, and it’s normal to leave thinking, “What did they say about that bit again?” Having the summary in your app means you can read it back, talk it through with your partner if you have one, and take time to consider your options.

If you’re comparing costs before getting started, our pre-treatment bundle page explains our couple's fertility assessment and what they’re designed to check.

Step 5: Viral screening and consent forms

Before treatment can begin, you’ll need to complete viral screening blood tests. If you’re having treatment with a partner, they’ll need to complete their own screening too.

You’ll also need to complete consent forms through Engaged MD. These forms are there to make sure you understand and agree to important parts of treatment, including how eggs, sperm, or embryos may be used or stored, depending on your plan.

It can feel like a lot of forms, but you don’t have to rush through them. Take your time, read everything properly, and ask your clinic team if something isn’t clear.

Consent is a legal requirement before fertility treatment or storage of eggs, sperm, or embryos can take place in the UK. The HFEA explains that patients must give informed written consent before treatment and storage.

Step 6: Your treatment planning meeting

Once your screening and consent forms are complete, you’ll attend a treatment planning meeting with a Care Fertility nurse.

This appointment is where your treatment plan starts to feel more practical. Your nurse will talk you through your medication, how and when to take it, and what to expect during treatment. You’ll also have the chance to ask questions about injections, appointments, scans, side effects, timings, or anything else that’s on your mind.

For many patients, this is the point where treatment starts to feel real. It can bring nerves, relief, or both. That’s completely understandable.

Step 7: Medication ordering and delivery

Your prescription will be sent to Stork, our medication provider, who will contact you to arrange delivery. Some medication may need to be stored in the fridge, so it’s important to check your delivery when it arrives and follow the storage instructions.

Fertility medication is delivered safely and discreetly through Stork, with some medication needing refrigeration between +2°C and +8°C.

Your nurse will explain what each medication is for, how to take it, and what to do if you miss a dose or are unsure about anything.

Step 8: Starting IVF or ICSI treatment

If you’re having IVF or ICSI, treatment usually begins with ovarian stimulation. This means taking hormone injections to encourage the ovaries to develop multiple follicles. Follicles are small fluid-filled sacs in the ovaries, and each one may contain an egg.

Stimulation injections usually start between day one and day three of a period and continue daily for around 10 to 14 days.

Your dose is personalised based on factors such as age, BMI, AMH, antral follicle count, and any previous response to treatment.

During this stage, you’ll have monitoring scans at your Care Fertility clinic. These scans help your team see how your follicles are growing and whether your medication needs adjusting.

Step 9: Trigger injection and egg collection

When your follicles are ready, you’ll take a trigger injection. This helps the eggs mature and allows your clinic team to time egg collection carefully.

Egg collection is carried out at the clinic, usually around 35 to 37 hours after the trigger injection. The eggs are collected using an internal ultrasound-guided procedure, and the embryology team will count them in the lab.

For the sperm, a sample is prepared in the laboratory. This may be a fresh sample, frozen sperm, donor sperm, or surgically retrieved sperm, depending on the treatment plan.

Step 10: Fertilisation, embryo development, and transfer

With IVF, eggs are mixed with sperm in the lab and fertilisation happens outside the body. With ICSI, a single sperm is selected and injected directly into each suitable mature egg.

Embryos are then monitored as they develop. At Care Fertility, embryos usually develop in the lab for around five days before the best embryo is selected for transfer, depending on your treatment plan.

Embryo transfer is usually a quick procedure. A fine catheter is used to place the embryo into the womb. If there are suitable embryos that are not transferred, they may be frozen for future use.

Step 11: The two-week wait and pregnancy test

After embryo transfer comes the two-week wait. This can be one of the hardest parts emotionally, because there is very little to do except wait for the pregnancy test date.

Some people feel hopeful. Some feel anxious. Some swing between the two several times a day. Try not to judge yourself for how you feel during this time.

Around two weeks after embryo transfer, you’ll take a pregnancy test or your period may start. If the test is positive, progesterone may be prescribed and a pregnancy scan booked for around three weeks later. If the test is negative, patients are invited to discuss next steps with their fertility specialist.

Whatever the result, you won’t be left on your own.

What if you’re exploring NHS treatment?

Some patients come to Care Fertility through NHS-funded treatment, while others self-fund privately. NHS funding rules can vary depending on where you live, because local integrated care boards set eligibility criteria.

The NHS explains that fertility treatment availability can depend on what is available through your local integrated care board.

If you’re trying to understand referrals, eligibility, and what to expect, our NHS referral process guide may be useful.

Where to find quick answers during treatment

There’s a lot to remember during fertility treatment, and you shouldn’t have to keep everything in your head.

Our help centre has clear answers to common questions about appointments, treatment, medication, costs, consent forms, and using your companion app.

You don’t have to know everything before you begin

Fertility treatment has a lot of steps, but you don’t have to memorise them all from day one. Your Care Fertility team will guide you through what needs to happen now, what comes next, and what can wait until later.

Take the first step