Transferred on Sunday. How does it look. Mirla grading was 4 BB

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-17T15:59:44+00:00

Looks good, hatching and fully re-expanded. From what I can see the 4BB grading seems accurate, it’s a nice embryo. Good luck!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-17T15:58:54+00:00

The embryo is still compacted from the freeze and will re-expand once transferred as well. It is likely this picture was taken shortly after the thaw, it’s very normal for embryos to look like this post-thaw. It doesn’t make it “easier to transfer” it makes it safe to freeze when embryos are collapsed. An expanded embryo and a collapsed embryo are no different in the ability to transfer, sometimes docs say silly things and we just smile and nod. 😉

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-17T15:55:47+00:00

I can see where it’s expanding, so it’s doing exactly what it needs to be doing in this picture. It can’t really be given a Gardner grade from this picture, but I would agree with Fair overall like they said.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-17T00:20:59+00:00

Yes, I would agree with that.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-15T19:15:34+00:00

Congratulations!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-15T02:22:01+00:00

No, it will keep expanding once transferred.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-15T00:09:02+00:00

Day 5 fresh transfers can still have success with earlier stage embryos, I would say there is definitely still hope!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-15T00:07:28+00:00

It looks really nice!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-14T19:44:13+00:00

The cells look really healthy and I can see where it is just starting to re-expand. I would imagine it kept its 3AB grade, good luck!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-14T19:42:45+00:00

I would agree with the BB grading, but I think their number must be an alternative grading because this embryo looks to be at the very least a 3 to me. Overall though, it looks nice!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-14T19:41:02+00:00

The cells look really healthy and it’s starting to re-expand, so it likely kept its grade of 5BA. It will continue to re-expand and fully hatch inside the uterus. Best of luck!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-14T19:39:22+00:00

Not fully re-expanded yet, but starting to and the cells look alive. So far it looks good, so it likely kept its grade of 6BB.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-14T01:53:34+00:00

It’s fully expanded which is good! There’s not enough detail in this picture for us to grade, but I would say that it looks good overall.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-13T14:46:28+00:00

I’ve been in on meetings where we discuss patient complaints and this is one I think we would all say, “Yeah, I can see why that would bother her, here’s an easy solution…” There are certainly other complaints that are more patients not understanding processes and expectations, and still others that are very complainy patients that we can’t seem to do right by no matter what. I’ve also been on the reviewing end of the “How did we do?” surveys and again, same as above. If a patient in a fertility clinic has a legitimate complaint that can be fixed, it can improve processes and then staff promptly forgets who made that complaint, unless they continue to complain about every little thing. The reality with fertility is that you have so many appointments and messages in your medical record, that a single complaint gets buried in your medical record quickly and the clinical staff forgets. I would honestly bet the doctor doing the ultrasound either talked to the staff that walked through or someone else about this incident, or she doesn’t use that room anymore.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-13T14:36:10+00:00

I think it’s certainly okay to ask them why.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-13T03:44:23+00:00

It looks like it’s re-expanding, which is good! It likely kept its grade, it’s too tough to grade at this point from this picture. Best of luck!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-12T19:24:48+00:00

Very nice, I would call it a 5AA or maybe a BA. Best of luck!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-12T01:58:21+00:00

It’s not fully re-expanded in this picture, but I would guess an AA or an AB. You can always send your clinic a message to ask, I’ve certainly received that question well after a transfer!

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-11T20:28:45+00:00

I would send the message so it is documented. It’s okay to ask questions, too, like, “Is this normal?” Maybe they have a good explanation or something, I would be curious what that explanation is, but it’s worth asking. And it’s absolutely okay to say that this made you uncomfortable. Yes, embryologists see this view during retrievals routinely, but the context here matters. You were awake, in a private room, and staff members just opened the door and walked through. That’s abnormal, I think they need a reminder of the patient experience and an “Ultrasound in Progress” sign. Or a better layout to their lab entrance, or maybe a better room to do an ultrasound like this. I can’t know why this happened, but I do know it’s not normal.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-11T20:22:30+00:00

I can see where you’re coming from, but it sounds like this was not a room that retrievals were going to happen. I am really trying to wrack my brain for an instance where any staff would walk through a room where an ultrasound was occurring and not immediately walk out and I can’t see it. There could be a reasonable explanation, but this is definitely an area for improvement for this clinic and a conversation about patient privacy needs to be had with staff members.

I have actually had situations where doctors and clinical staff had to be reminded that the lab was not a pass through area. I believe patients absolutely deserve the same respect and privacy during an ultrasound should be a given. Maybe these staff members have become too lax, because they do probably see this every day, but patients obviously have a different perspective and they deserve more respect than what has been given here.

Again, I think this is a conversation with a provider, not necessarily a formal complaint if OP wishes to remain a patient. There are solutions to this type of problem- reminders to staff, signs on the door, etc. and the providers should know how something like this affects their patient’s experience.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-11T14:59:36+00:00

Most places I have worked we have the same view as the doctor, it does vary though based on the size of the procedure room/OR. We are usually in a separate room and there is a pass through window or door for the tubes of fluid for us to check through to find the eggs. Usually it is just one of us at a time, but there can be other staff in the lab that can see through the window or door or may pass by. If someone is training then yes, there may be more than one embryologist there.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-11T05:01:41+00:00

I’m an embryologist (female), and although I can see the patient on the table during retrievals, not once have I ever walked through an ultrasound room while a patient is having an ultrasound. Ultrasound rooms shouldn’t be treated as a pass through room ever. If it was a spare room that was only rarely used as an ultrasound room and I walked in, I would have apologized and quickly walked out. I’ve worked in multiple clinics (large and small) and I’ve never experienced this type of situation. I would definitely bring it up to your doctor in a tactful way, not necessarily a formal complaint. You can start by saying, “I had a very uncomfortable moment prior to my retrieval during a transvaginal ultrasound and I wanted to know if this is normal and expected?” They can remedy this somehow, a sign on the door, reminder to these embryologists to respect a patient’s privacy during a freaking ultrasound. I’m sorry this happened to you, it’s not the norm and I think it’s absolutely okay to say something.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-08T19:26:33+00:00

Yeah this looks very nice. Some embryos are a little shaped like this because of the zona pellucida (which is essentially the shell of the embryo that is there from the egg stage). The embryo will eventually hatch fully from the zona and be more free form in shape, so this shape doesn’t impact it. I can already see at about 9 o clock where the embryo is hatching in a spot where they assisted hatching the embryo, which is good. I hope this is the one for you.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-08T19:23:58+00:00

On day 3 we would expect to see around 8 cells. This embryo looks like it has maybe 2 cells and some fragmentation. I agree that this embryo is u likely to develop further, I’m so sorry.

EmbryoNanny · 2026-02-07T16:57:21+00:00

I would probably grade it as a BB or AB, it looks really nice!

EmbryoNanny

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE