The first fertility treatment known to man dates back to the early 20th century and required only two things, one, a healthy sperm sample and two a tool that resembled a turkey baster.
Artificial insemination can be helpful to couples who suffer from a sperm allergy, low sperm count or poor sperm mobility. If sperm count or mobility is really low intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI is the preferred treatment.
Your doctor will likely start you on a fertility drug prior to undergoing artificial insemination to improve your odds of becoming pregnant. The fertility drug is started near the beginning of your menstrual cycle to stimulate your ovaries to produce several mature eggs for fertilization instead of the one egg produced normally.
With artificial insemination timing is the key to success so you'll use an ovulation detection kit or your doctor will perform an ultrasound to determine when you'll ovulate so he/she can time the insemination. Sometimes a medication is given to induce ovulation. Once you ovulate your partner will supply a sperm sample which will be "washed" which is a procedure that concentrates the healthiest sperm in a small amount of fluid. This concentrated sperm will be put directly into your uterus through your cervix via a catheter. You'll be able to take a pregnancy test about two weeks after the procedure.
The insemination process takes about an hour and depending on the cause of your fertility problem most women will require three to six insemination procedures before becoming pregnant or trying another treatment.
Age and fertility problem will depend on the success rate of the insemination process.
The majority of couples have a 5 to 20 percent chance of conception with each cycle with those prescribed fertility drugs closer to the 20 percent mark.
Because artificial insemination is less invasive and more economical than in vitro fertilization it is usually a first step in treating fertility problems. It also allows for fertilization to occur naturally inside your body.
The only downside to artificial insemination is that it is very time sensitive. Once ovulation is detected you and your partner must be able to go immediately to your doctors office and your partner must be able to quickly supply a sperm sample.
The costs are relatively inexpensive with treatments costing between $300 to $700 per cycle. Include ultrasound monitoring and medication and the costs increase to about $1500 to $4000 per cycle.
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