IUI, a type of artificial insemination, is a popular procedure for treating infertility. When a woman conceives naturally, sperm travel from the vagina through the cervix (narrow, lower part of the womb), into the uterus (womb), and up into one of the fallopian tubes. If sperm arrives in a tube soon after the release of the egg from the ovary (ovulation), the sperm and egg can meet and unite (fertilization) in the tube. The cervix naturally limits the number of sperms that enter the uterus. This means that only a small percentage of the sperm in the ejaculate actually make their way into the fallopian tubes. Intrauterine insemination (IUI) helps the sperm get closer to your egg. This makes the passage to the fallopian tubes much shorter, and there is a better chance that more sperm will encounter the egg. The goal of this procedure is to improve a woman’s chance of getting pregnant.
There are many reasons why couples experience difficulty getting pregnant. Intrauterine insemination is used most often in couples who have:
Once collected, the semen sample is then “washed” in the laboratory to concentrate the sperm and remove the seminal fluid (seminal fluid can cause severe cramping in the woman), non-motile sperm and necrotic sperm. This process can take up to 2 hours to complete.
IUI is performed near the time that the woman is ovulating. The IUI procedure is relatively simple and only takes a few minutes once the semen sample is ready. The woman lies on a gynecology bed and the clinician inserts a speculum into her vagina to see her cervix. A catheter (narrow tube) is inserted through the cervix into the uterus and the washed semen sample is slowly injected. Usually this procedure is painless, but some women have mild cramps. Some women may experience spotting for a day or two after the IUI.
The success rate of IUI is between 8%- 18% and this depends on lots of different things, including: