What is IUI?

IUI (sometimes referred to as artificial insemination) stands for intrauterine insemination. It is a fertility treatment that places sperm directly into the uterus.

Who needs IUI?

The IUI procedure can be used to overcome a variety of mild fertility problems, many of them on the male side.

Male infertility indications for IUI are:

• Low sperm count, in which there are not enough sperm for a decent chance of natural fertilization. The sperm have a lower chance of fertilizing the egg, simply because there aren't as many sperm.
• Low sperm motility, in which sperm have suboptimal ability to swim up to reach and fertilize the egg.
• Cervical factor infertility, in which cervical mucus negatively impacts sperm motility.
• Sexual dysfunction.

IUI is also used when patients use donor sperm, a process called donor insemination. Delhi IVF Clinic works with reputable sperm banks where patients can select and procure semen samples for IUI. Donor insemination becomes necessary when the male does not produce sperm of a sufficient quantity and quality, and semen extraction procedures like Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE) fail. Donor insemination is also routinely used for single women who want to conceive on their own.

In cases of so-called "unexplained" infertility, some physicians employ IUI. However, since Delhi IVF Clinic does not believe that "unexplained infertility" really exists – we believe that in "unexplained infertility" cases, something important has been overlooked during the diagnostic process – we focus on identifying the root cause(s) and devising a treatment plan that specifically target the root cause(s).

How does the IUI procedure work?

Ovulation induction before intrauterine (artificial) insemination

IUI is usually combined with ovulation induction, a process in which a woman's ovaries are mildly stimulated to produce more than one mature egg. Having more than one mature egg means that the sperm have a better chance of "meeting" an egg and fertilizing it, improving the probability of success.

During ovulation induction, in the weeks leading up to IUI the female patient takes medication to make her ovulate. This can be clomiphene citrate (Clomid), taken in oral tablet form, or a group of medications called gonadotropins, which are injected. Clomid is the mildest form of ovarian stimulant, though it can have some unpleasant side effects. At Delhi IVF Clinic, all patients undergoing ovulation induction are monitored: the growth of ovarian follicles (fluid-filled sacs that contain eggs) is monitored by vaginal ultrasound, and hormone levels are checked by blood tests.

The intrauterine (artificial) insemination process

When the ovaries have a good number of mature eggs, a hormonal injection (hCG) is used to trigger ovulation (release of the eggs from the ovaries). This injection determines when the patient ovulates. Inseminations are timed accordingly, and the male partner produces the sperm, which are washed and prepared in the lab. At Delhi IVF Clinic, we inseminate twice every month in most cases, once just before and again just after ovulation, on consecutive days.

By placing sperm directly into the uterus via IUI, the greatest barrier--the mucus in the cervix--is bypassed, and sperm do not have as far to travel to meet the egg in the fallopian tube. Therefore, more sperm reach the egg, creating a better chance of fertilization.