Under the care of our fertility team, the woman is given oral and injectable fertility medications to stimulate her ovaries to produce one to two egg containing follicles. Medication is taken for approximately 12 days depending on your protocol and how your body responds to treatment.

The number and size of the developing follicles is measured by trans-vaginal ultrasound scans. The more eggs you release, the higher the chance of a multiple pregnancy- this is why your fertility doctor will aim for just one or two mature eggs through your treatment.

The final preparation for ovulation involves a hormone injection which mimics the natural trigger for ovulation. Insemination will take place the day after this injection.

In a normal menstrual cycle, only one egg is released. In an IUI cycle you are helping the follicles to produce healthy and mature eggs with the assistance of medication.

Once it is confirmed that a ripe egg is present you will take a ‘trigger injection’ which is a hormone that causes you to ovulate. This injection will help your body to release the mature egg from the follicle, ready for fertilisation.

At this point if you are doing IUI with a male partner, he will provide a sperm sample which is then processed, cleaned and prepared by our laboratory. This ensures that only the healthiest sperm cells are ready for the insemination and that they are concentrated into a small volume.

If you are using donor sperm, the same procedure will be used but from a frozen sperm sample which will be thawed before use.

The insemination itself is very simple. It is not unlike having a smear test and for most people it is only mildly uncomfortable. You do not need to be under any sedation and it will only take 10 minutes or less.

A catheter is inserted directly through the cervix and millions of motile sperm are pushed through directly into the uterus. The catheter is then removed and you can go about your day as normal.