Intra Uterine Insemination

The next attempt we made was a technique known as Intra Uterine Insemination. We were still with Dr. Jyothi menon at Sure Fertility.  The thinking behind this technique is that the sperms have a long way to go to reach the egg.  For example, the first major obstacle is the cervix (the opening into the uterus).  The cervix opening has mucus through which the sperm has to swim.  On fertile days around ovulation, this mucus is thinner and easier to swim through.  I remember reading somewhere that only one in hundred sperm get through the cervix to the uterus.  Then the sperm has to swim up the uterus to the fallopian tubes and fertilize the egg.

In IUI, they take the best sperm and deliver it through the cervix into the uterus.The sperm presumably has a shorter path now to fertilize the egg.  However, IUI only addresses people where the ability of sperm to get past the cervix and swim all the way is low.  Success rates in IUI are typically less than 20%. However, doctors prefer to try it because (a) it does not involve the heavy stimulation and drugs in IVF/ICSI (b) It is a lot easier to do.  They may give you some fertility drugs to stimulate the follicle development process and then when they are of the right size, a shot of HCG will be used to cause the follicle to mature and for an oocyte to be released.  At the same time, the doctor will schedule a coinciding time to deliver a sample of concentrated sperm from the male partner into the uterus to do its work.  The doc may give some progesterone support to help implantation.

We only did IUI once and it did not succeed.  Given our low AMH and probably looking at the ovarian response to the drugs, we hurried on to an IVF cycle after the IUI.