IVF Journey: 22w2d pregnant

This is my IVF diary. My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for four years now, and have a diagnosis of 'unexplained infertility'. We have finally reached the top of the waiting list for IVF - a form of assisted conception. I'm blogging about what happens as it happens, as a kind of therapy for me and as an awareness raising exercise of what IVF is all about.

A very routine appointment with the midwife today, which is how it should be.

Urine dip, blood pressure test, external examination and fetal heart rate – all normal.

The midwife told me a bit about fetal movements. She said that these should become regular around week 27, and that it was important that I should keep half an eye on these as if they became irregular this could be a bad sign and I should phone obstetric triage and get checked out. Not news to me, but it is policy to explain this at this point.

More excitingly (because I’m weird like that) I was given the Mat B1 form today. This is the official form that certifies I am pregnant which I will use to claim maternity leave benefits - in my case Maternity Allowance as I am self employed, which can commence from 26 weeks of pregnancy (tbc!).

The form cannot be issued more than 20 weeks in advance of the birth, so that feels like another positive step.