What is Intrauterine Insemination?

When a woman is not able to conceive a child the natural way, there are other options open to her through the knowledge of advanced medical technology. One such process is intrauterine insemination, which most people know of as artificial insemination. This procedure can be used as a treatment for most causes of infertility, except for very extreme cases. This method is used in women who do not have severe forms of infertility such as blockages, poor egg quality or tubal damage. Additionally, it is used in instances where the woman's male partner has some sort of infertility issue as well. This insemination process has a good success rate when it is used in the right medical instances.

Doctors take the washed sperm and place it into the uterus by the use of a long, narrow and sterile catheter. By its very name, intrauterine insemination suggests that the sperm is placed in the uterus; however, sometimes it is placed in the cervix (although chances of pregnancy are much better if the sperm is deposited in the uterus).

This procedure can be uncomfortable, but it is usually not painful in any way. Once the sperm has been deposited, the procedure is over and the woman is done. There are instances when the doctor, depending on their preferences, might want the woman to lay flat for a few minutes. Statistics do not show that this helps conception occur as the sperm is already placed high enough in the woman's body so it will not flow out as she stands.

Intrauterine insemination can be done with the sperm of the woman's male partner or if for some reason this is not possible, then a sperm donor can be used. It could be that the woman does not have a male partner or that the male sperm is of a poor quality. There have been instances of a woman being allergic to her partner's sperm. In these instances, being able to utilize this procedure works wonders for helping the woman to conceive.

If you are a valid candidate, then intrauterine insemination is a wonderful medical technology which can enable you to have children and a chance at parenthood. This procedure is not that difficult for the woman to undertake and is about as awkward and uncomfortable as having a pap smear. Once the insemination has been done, it will take approximately two weeks to determine if it has been successful. The doctor will test the woman's blood for signs of pregnancy. If it does fail, then the procedure can be tried again. The success rate drops with each additional try and if it does not work at all, then the woman will have to look at other avenues for conception.