A hysteroscopy before starting IVF treatment is a must. You won’t always be offered one, but insist on it. A hysteroscopy is the best way to check your womb is healthy and ready to carry a baby. You wouldn’t bake a cake before checking the oven worked, would you? Same rules apply to IVF cycles. Hysteroscopy is a checker.

During a hysteroscopy, first you will be sedated then a narrow tube with a telescope at the end is passed through your vagina and cervix into your uterine cavity, which is sometimes filled with fluid or gas. The images are viewed on a screen and recorded.

The Surgeon can then check for fibroid, Polyps, Scar tissue Septa and other malformations. If any are spotted they can usually be sorted out at the same time, i.e your hysteroscopy changes from being diagnostic to operative.

A hysteroscopy is a relatively straight forward, if invasive, procedure. It is really sensible to have one alongside hormone tests, STD tests, male partner semen analysis. Uterine problems can cause infertility and miscarriage and you need to be a picture of health before your IVF treatment. Don’t rely on trans-vaginal ultrasound scan or HSG to pick up problems, they won’t always see what a hysteroscopy does.

Therefore for uterine analysis, hysteroscopy is the gold standard.