General Information IUI

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is the placing of sperm into a woman’s uterus when she is ovulating. IUI procedure is used for couples with unexplained infertility, minimal male factor infertility, and women with cervical mucus problems. IUI is often done in conjunction with ovulation-stimulating drugs. IUI can be performed using the husband’s sperm or donor sperm. Before IUI, the woman should be evaluated for any hormonal imbalance, infection or any structural problems.

Insemination is performed at the time of ovulation, usually within 24-36 hours after the LH surge is detected, or after the “trigger” injection of hCG is administered. Ovulation is predicted by a urine test kit or blood test and ultrasound.

In the case of husband inseminination, the male partner produces a specimen, at home or at the clinic or doctor’s office. The sperm is then prepared for IUI. Sperm from the male partner or third-party donor are “washed” or separated. Separation selects out motile sperm from the man’s ejaculate and concentrates them into a small volume. Sperm washing cleanses the sperm of potentially toxic chemicals which may cause adverse reactions in the uterus. The doctor uses a soft catheter that is passed through a speculum directly into the woman’s uterus to deposit the semen at the time of ovulation.

IUI may be used in conjunction with ovulatory medications, such as clomiphine citrate, letrozole, or gonadotropins. If injectable ovulation stimulating drugs are used in an IUI cycle, careful monitoring is essential. Monitoring includes periodic blood tests and ultrasounds beginning around day 6 of the woman’s cycle. Most IUI treatment cycles require one or two ultrasounds to monitor a patients response and the optimal time for the hcg trigger injection.

IUI procedure is also used with specially prepared donor sperm. The sperm bank sends the doctor’s office sperm from anonymous donors that have been rigorously screened by the sperm bank.  Patients select the donor.  We ask that you do not select a donor until we have the results of your recessive genetic disease test.  If you carry a common recessive disease, you may choose to select a donor that has had that test or is available for more testing.

The donors are tested according to guidelines by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and The Federal Drug Administration (F.D.A.).  Sperm donors are screened for the pertinent infectious diseases, but the sperm sample is not released to the clinics and patients until the donor has tested negative again several months later.  

IUI procedure is a relatively quick procedure and is performed in the doctor’s office without any anesthesia. It should not be painful.  In our offices we usually perform the IUIs with abdominal ultrasound guidance.  This allows a very gentle guidance of the IUI catheter through the cervix and into the Uterus.

The success of IUI procedure depends on many variables.  Patients with “lowish” sperm counts may benefit the most.  Patients with a very long history of infertility and a completely normal evaluation may have problems that cannot be overcome by an IUI.  Dr. Pabon and our staff will guide you in the decision to consider IUI or other treatments.

Read positive reviews of past patients who took our IUI treatment and are very happy with results.
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