By Chioma Umeha
When you and your partner talk to a doctor about
getting help for infertility, he may suggest a technique called “artificial
insemination.” It’s a simple procedure with few side effects, and it can help
some couples who haven’t been able to get pregnant.
In artificial insemination, a doctor inserts sperm
directly into a woman’s cervix, fallopian tubes, or uterus. The most common
method is called “intrauterine insemination (IUI),” when a doctor places the
sperm in the uterus.
Why is this helpful? It makes the trip shorter for
the sperm and gets around any obstructions. Your doctor may suggest this method
first as a treatment for infertility.
What Type of Infertility Can Artificial
Insemination Treat?
The procedure can be used for many kinds of
fertility problems. In cases involving male infertility, it’s often used when
there’s a very low sperm count or when sperm aren’t strong enough to swim
through the cervix and up into the fallopian tubes.
When the issue is female infertility, it’s
sometimes done if you have a condition called endometriosis or you have
anything that’s abnormal in your reproductive organs.
This method might also be right for you if you
have something called an “unreceptive cervical mucus.” That means the mucus
that surrounds the cervix prevents sperm from getting into your uterus and
fallopian tubes. Artificial insemination lets the sperm skip the cervical mucus
entirely.
Doctors also often suggest artificial insemination
when they can’t figure out the reason a couple is infertile.
What to expect during the procedure
Your doctor will use ovulation kits, ultrasound,
or blood tests to make sure you’re ovulating when you get artificial
insemination. Then, your partner will need to provide a sample of his semen.
The doctor will suggest that your partner avoid sex for two to five days before
the procedure to help make sure his sperm count is high.
If you live close to the clinic, your partner may
be able to collect a semen sample at home. If not, he’ll do this in a private
room. The reason it helps if you live close to the doctor’s office is that the
sperm must be “washed” in a laboratory within one hour of ejaculation.
The process of “washing” the sperm in a lab
removes chemicals in the semen that may cause discomfort for a woman, and
raises the chances of getting pregnant. Technicians liquefy the sperm at room
temperature for 30 minutes and add a harmless chemical to separate out the most
active sperm. They use a centrifuge to collect the best sperm.
Those are placed in a thin tube called a catheter
and put through your vagina and cervix into the uterus.
Artificial insemination is short and relatively
painless. Many women describe it as similar to a Pap smear. You may have
cramping during the procedure and light bleeding afterward. Your doctor will
probably have you lie down for about 15 to 45 minutes to give the sperm a
chance to get to work. After that, you can get back to your usual activities.
In some cases, before you have the procedure, your
doctor will place you on fertility drugs, such as clomiphene citrate (Clomid).
This helps your body ovulate multiple eggs.
