Infertility Treatment with Intrauterine Insemination

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a kind of artificial insemination. In IUI, the sperm is washed to separate it from the semen and inserted into the woman's uterus using a catheter through her cervix. IUI is ideal for couples who have problems with the man's sperm crossing the woman's cervical mucus. IUI is also a good choice for couples with disability, premature ejaculation, mild endometriosis, poor sperm count and unexplained infertility. It is also useful when the man produces antibodies to his own sperm.

IUI is done around the time of the woman's ovulation. The woman is sometimes given ovulation induction drugs such as injections and nasal sprays. If fertility drugs are used, it is called a stimulated cycle. In the absence of drugs, it is called an unstimulated or natural cycle. The whole process lasts for about 15 minutes. After insemination, you may be asked to rest for a while. Most people prefer opting for intrauterine insemination before trying out other intensive treatments such as IVF.

Usually 6 cycles of IUI are tried before moving to IVF and ICSI. The chances of success is 15% (at the end of 6 cycles) as compared to 2% in natural cycles with just ovulation induction drugs. But twins are more common in IUI cycles.

The success rate of intrauterine or artificial insemination depends on age of the woman, duration and cause of infertility, the quantity and quality of motile sperms.

IUI is not suitable in the following cases:

• Blockage or damage of fallopian tubes
• Ovarian failure
• Advanced endometriosis
• Women above the age of 40

Some other types of artificial insemination are:

• Intracervical Insemination

  - The sperm is injected into the cervix of the woman.

• Intrafollicular Insemination

  - The sperm is injected into the ovarian follicles.

• Intratubal Insemination

  - The sperm is injected into the fallopian tubes of the woman.

The point of injection of the sperm depends on the type of infertility.