IVF and body wash/soap

Villo24

My friend went through IVF last year, and now I am going through the same process with the same RE. I am starting to learn that many of things she told us when she was going through it as she HAD to because the RE told her so, isn't true.

One was that she could only wash with unscented soap for a month before and after ET. This was because the embies are more sensitive to odors and do not agree with them. When we went over the dos and don'ts with the RE he never mentioned it and I felt silly to ask him.

Has any of your REs advised this to you??  

LisaMarie95

I have never heard this and I am days away from ER.

catery18

the only thing I have heard about this is that on the day of my ER and ET I was told to not wear perfumes or scented creams, etc. I was told the embryo's can be sensitive to scents. But not the month before. Just those 2 days. 

momagain2009

catery18:

the only thing I have heard about this is that on the day of my ER and ET I was told to not wear perfumes or scented creams, etc. I was told the embryo's can be sensitive to scents. But not the month before. Just those 2 days. 

This, the nurse said that perfumes and scented lotions are embryo toxic.

rachel06

catery18:

the only thing I have heard about this is that on the day of my ER and ET I was told to not wear perfumes or scented creams, etc. I was told the embryo's can be sensitive to scents. But not the month before. Just those 2 days. 

This! So I tried to avoid everything with scents. I even bought a travel deodorant that was unscented. 

sourpop

It was in my instructions for IVF. It said nothing scented.

On that note though, after I had my IVF m/c I made a lifestyle change and switched all of my body products/cleaners to non paraban/non scented/non harsh chemicals. I am not sure what a difference it made though, but its better for your health and the environment overall.

I basically went to Whole Foods and purchased a lot of their 365 brand of shampoo/cond, lotion, and soap. Grocery stores now carry organic make-up and I always buy the non scented laundry detergent (traders joes has a great non expensive brand as well). I switched out my household cleaners (which i make myself now) and use an awesome line of deodorant called "liken plant" that doesnt have alumninum (also purchased at whole foods).  

nikinikinine

I was told to wash with unscented antibacterial soap the day of the ER and ET, not to wear deoderant, any perfumes or lotions or hair products the day of the ER and ET. But while cycling it's not an issue.

I just washed on those days with dial in a bar form.

I know that on a cellular level you can affect things based on scents, etc. So maybe she was just being extra careful? But really it's only necessary to be that careful on the days where you will be in the embryology lab.

GL! 

Omega20

I'm so glad you posted this.  I had no idea.  I knew not to wear perfume or lotions, but I'm almost certain I used a body wash with some sort of scent.

So what about shampoo and conditioner?  Should those be non-scented too for ER and ET?

liberty09

I've never heard that!  The only thing I was told was to not wear perfume to the ER...that's it!

Villo24

Interesting.  So my friend wasn't totally crazy, just slightly crazy.

Thanks for your help ladies. I am sure that as it gets closer to my retrieval day the RE will tell me what I can/cannot wear.  But for now I am going to continue with my extra moisturizing body wash. My skin is so dry!

 

iluvadam

momagain2009:

catery18:

the only thing I have heard about this is that on the day of my ER and ET I was told to not wear perfumes or scented creams, etc. I was told the embryo's can be sensitive to scents. But not the month before. Just those 2 days. 

This, the nurse said that perfumes and scented lotions are embryo toxic.

This is exactly what I was told as well.  When they did my ER and ET, we were only one room away from the embie lab and that is why I had to be mindful of being completely unscented.

c0debabe

nikinikinine:

I was told to wash with unscented antibacterial soap the day of the ER and ET, not to wear deoderant, any perfumes or lotions or hair products the day of the ER and ET. But while cycling it's not an issue.

I just washed on those days with dial in a bar form.

I know that on a cellular level you can affect things based on scents, etc. So maybe she was just being extra careful? But really it's only necessary to be that careful on the days where you will be in the embryology lab.

GL! 

This is what my IVF nurse explained to me.