IUI

It is a technique where a preparation of most healthy and progressive motile sperm is placed through the cervix into the uterine cavity around the time of ovulation.

Indication

IUI is generally the first line of treatment when medication and timed intercourse does not succeed. IUI is a relatively noninvasive and less-expensive fertility treatment compared to more invasive and costly treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). IUI can be performed using a male partner’s sperm or donor sperm. IUI is most commonly used in these scenarios:

  • with mild to moderate decrease in sperm count and/or motility,
  • anatomical or ejaculatory dysfunction
  • mild endometriosis
  • for some couples who don't have any apparent cause for infertility (unexplainedinfertility).

For women who do not ovulate regularly, ovulation induction maybe combined with IUI.

Contraindication

  • B/ltubal block
  • Very severe oligoasthenospermia
  • Severe endometriosis
  • Poor ovarian reserve
  • Multiple infertility etiologies

Procedure of IUI for Infertility Treatment

How Does IUI work?

Here is a detailed timeline of the IUI process:

Production of eggs

Whether it is natural or induced by fertility drugs, production of an egg is vital for IUI. Women typically release only one egg a month, but in such a case, fertility drugs might be prescribed to produce multiple healthier eggs together so that the chance of insemination can be higher.

Tracking the eggs

Tracking the ovulation is also very important, as it is necessary to time the insemination properly, which is also a factor in the success rate of the treatment.

Picking and washing the sperm

The sperm sample, whether from the partner or a donor, is picked and then ‘washed’; which implies that the best sperm is concentrated together to a much smaller amount of fluid.

Inseminating the patient

A thin and long tube known as the catheter is used to place the concentrated or ‘washed’ sperm directly in the uterus.

Testing for success

Almost two weeks after the insemination, a pregnancy test is done to check whether the process was successful or not.

Advantages and Disadvantages of IUI

Pros

  • The procedure is more ‘natural’, which means that the sperm is inseminated into the woman’s body and left to fuse with the egg in a natural way
  • IUI is less invasive than other procedures like IVF
  • It costs much less as well
  • In case of male fertility problems, IUI can work very well

Cons

  • The success rate of IUI is much lower as compared to IVF
  • This procedure is not an option for women above the age of 40
  • IUI presents a high probability of conceiving and delivering two or more babies, which might be a high-risk pregnancy
  • One may have to go through several cycles for success

Complications

Apart from mild pain and spotting on the day of an IUI, there are no major complications.

Around five to ten percent of the patients have multiple (generally twin) pregnancies.

Sometimes, a patient may respond excessively to medications and produce more eggs, putting her at risk for multiple pregnancies and a condition called Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS).

Infection is a very rare complication.

Success rate

Inproperly selected patients, ovulation induction and IUI should be planned for about 3 to 4 cycles. This protocol yields a pregnancy rate of 10% to 12% per cycle and a cumulative pregnancy rate of about 25% to 30% at the end of 3 to 4 cycles.

Favorable patient characteristic for success are young female partner, short duration of infertility and cause of infertility.

Back to Our Services