How you prepare

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Intrauterine insemination involves careful coordination before the actual procedure:

• Preparing the semen sample. Your partner provides a semen sample at the doctor’s office, or a vial of frozen donor sperm can be thawed and prepared. Because nonsperm elements in semen can cause reactions in the woman’s body that interfere with fertilization, the sample will be washed in a way that separates the highly active, normal sperm from lower quality sperm and other elements. The likelihood of achieving pregnancy increases by using a small, highly concentrated sample of healthy sperm.
• Monitoring for ovulation. Because the timing of IUI is crucial, monitoring for signs of impending ovulation is critical. To do this, you might use an at-home urine ovulation predictor kit that detects when your body produces a surge or release of luteinizing hormone (LH). Or, an imaging method that lets your doctor visualize your ovaries and egg growth (transvaginal ultrasound) can be done. You also may be given an injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) or medications to make you ovulate one or more eggs at the right time.
• Determining optimal timing. Most IUIs are done a day or two after detecting ovulation. Your doctor or other care provider will have a plan spelled out for the timing of your procedure and what to expect.

What you can expect

The visit for intrauterine insemination takes about 15 to 20 minutes and is usually done in a doctor’s office or clinic. The IUI procedure itself takes just a minute or two and requires no medications or pain relievers. Your doctor or a specially trained nurse performs the procedure.

During the procedure

While lying on an exam table, you put your legs into stirrups. Your care provider inserts a speculum into the vagina — similar to what you experience during a Pap test. During the procedure, the doctor or nurse:

• Attaches a vial containing a sample of healthy sperm to the end of a long, thin, flexible tube (catheter)
• Inserts the catheter into the vagina, through the cervical opening and into the uterus
• Pushes the sperm sample through the tube into the uterus
• Removes the catheter, followed by the speculum

After the procedure

After insemination, you lie on your back for a brief period. Once the procedure is over, you can get dressed and go about your usual daily activities. You may have some light spotting for a day or two after the procedure.

Results

Wait two weeks before taking an at-home pregnancy test. Testing too soon could produce a result that is:

• False-negative. If pregnancy hormones aren’t yet at measurable levels, the test result may be negative when, in fact, you really are pregnant.
• False-positive. If you’re using ovulation-inducing medication such as HCG, the medication that’s still circulating in your body could indicate a pregnancy when you really aren’t pregnant.

Your doctor may instruct you to return about two weeks after your home kit results for a blood test, which is more sensitive in detecting pregnancy hormones after fertilization.

If you don’t become pregnant, you might try IUI again before moving on to other fertility treatments. Often, the same therapy is used for three to six months to maximize chances of pregnancy.