IUI and Fertility
Are you having difficulty getting pregnant? About 7.3 million couples in America are with you. Nowadays, there are many options presented to those with infertility issues. Many still choose one of the simplest procedures to help out the process; a procedure that has been with us for many years. That process is known as an intrauterine insemination (IUI), which boosts fertility.
Intrauterine insemination was the original process of artificial insemination. Today, artificial insemination can be done in different locations in the female reproductive system; other than the uterus, sperm can be introduced in the vagina (intravaginal insemination), the cervix (intracervical insemination), and the fallopian tubes (intratubal insemination). Among them, intrauterine is still the most popular choice among women dealing with pregnancy problems.
The process is quite simple as it merely replicates the natural process of insemination. The male penis is simply replaced by a catheter. This is a long tube usually attached to a syringe that holds the sperm. The sperm is injected into the uterus through the catheter. Nowadays there are other procedures that help the process. Before insertion, the sperm is first “washed” as naturally it contains chemicals that can cause the uterus to eject it and cause discomfort to the woman. This also removes the unhealthy sperms from the batch. This has the disadvantage of lowering the sperm count though and so males with too low a sperm count will still have difficulty succeeding through this process. Sometimes the woman also needs help in producing eggs or ovulating. This is helped along with fertility drugs. Timing is crucial in this procedure, as the sperm has to be introduced in the right moment for them to meet the woman’s egg and fertilize it. The chances of success for healthy candidates of the procedure can be as high as 20% per attempt. This may seem low, but consider the fact that the natural process has roughly about 25% of pregnancy per attempt.
Before going for an intrauterine insemination, you and your partner should go through a complete evaluation to determine the exact nature of your problem. There are certain conditions that favor the procedure. For the woman, you must have at least open fallopian tubes and a healthy uterus. The process will still use your own eggs and the process may not benefit you should you have poor egg quality. The use of beneficial drugs is common among women candidates for the procedure. For the man, your sperm count and quality has to pass a certain level as mentioned above.
Iintrauterine insemination is usually used in cases of male infertility. However, sometimes there are conditions in the female cervix (the passageway between the vagina and the uterus) that do not allow sperm to go through. Insemination will bypass the cervix.
An intrauterine will usually cost around $300 to $500 per attempt or cycle. Although it isn’t cheap, especially as some clinics will charge for the extra procedures involved like ultrasounds and examinations which can bump the price up to the thousands, it is still relatively cheaper than other procedures like IVF which has an average cost of around $12,000 per cycle. Even though the success rate isn’t numerically as high per cycle as compared to IVF (20% for IUI versus 40% for IVF), the relative low cost will allow for multiple tries. Many have succeeded in getting pregnant and having children within the first four attempts of the procedure. If you’re a candidate, your chances of starting that family are still good.
|
Yes! I Want To Know All About Infertility and I.U.I. Solutions Send Me My Free “Overcoming Infertility Mini-Course” By Email Today! You Will Receive the First Lesson in Your Inbox Immediately. 100% Spam Free! I Value Your Email Privacy. |
