What is a mock cycle? Are there different kinds?

Learn the answer to this week's user-submitted question about surrogacy in this week's installment of Ask a Surrogacy Expert! Have a question about surrogacy that you'd like answered? Submit it at brightfuturesfamilies.com/ask

Hey, everyone, it's Amanda Kinnard-Fuchsgruber, Director of Bright Futures Families Surrogacy, with this week's Ask Question. And today's question is: What is a mock cycle? Are there different kinds, like a medication mock cycle versus something that has an ERA or an endometrial biopsy at the end?

And the answer is, all mock cycles typically are medicated, but it is a pretend embryo transfer. So doing what they would actually do for an embryo transfer, just not having the embryo transfer at the end, so they're using medications. That way they can make adjustments and see how your body reacts to things. That way, when they get to the actual embryo transfer cycle, they know and kind of have a plan ready for that cycle. Sometimes at the end of the mock cycle, the clinic does an era, a cd, and endometrial biopsy, whatever they want to call it, but it's basically taking a piece of your uterine lining and sending that off in order to be analyzed. So it helps look at the different layers of your uterus. It helps analyze the thickness. It can help narrow down more the day and the time that would possibly be better for an embryo transfer to work. So while mock cycles can be frustrating, they can take more time, they can take more money. It really is an attempt to give more answers and have a better outcome when you get to the actual embryo transfer. I hope that helps. Let us know if you have more questions.