Intrauterine Insemination
Intrauterine insemination is a frequently
applied IVF method of moderate interference,
during which appropriately prepared
sperm is placed into the woman’s uterus.
This method is adopted as a first-line
treatment in couples with mild to moderate
sperm disorders or with infertility that
is recognized as unexplained.

Other indications leading to the adoption
of the method are the suspicion of cervical
factor infertility (once the sperm is transferred
into the uterine cavity the woman’s
cervix is by-passed), and the cases of
azoospermia where sperm retrieval (even
by surgical operation to the testicles) is
not feasible and thus donor sperm is used
(heterologous intrauterine insemination).

Although intrauterine insemination can be
applied during the woman’s natural cycle
(through simple monitoring of her ovarian
follicle), it is usually combined with mild
ovarian stimulation and ovulation induction
to achieve better results.

Ovulation induction is performed in the
ways described in the ‘ovulation induction’
paragraph. During the predicted or scheduled
ovulation day the couple arrives to
the IVF Unit, and the husband gives sperm
which is appropriately prepared in the laboratory.
A small quantity of the elaborated
and improved sperm is injected through
thin catheters that pass through the cervix
up to the uterine cavity. This technique
is almost painless for the woman and does
not require any kind of anesthesia.

The woman needs to stay at bed for a few
minutes and then is able to leave and resume
everyday activities.

The possibilities of acheiving a pregnancy
after intrauterine insemination depend
on how serious the infertility problem is
and on the final quality of sperm (after its
preparation); it should be noted however
that these possibilities do not exceed an
18-20% per effort for the best of cases.

Moreover, most studies agree on the point
that if there is no pregnancy after 3 or 4 inseminations
then we should proceed to the
application of IVF.