A medicated IUI cycle can be an affordable way to make parenthood possible
Intrauterine insemination, or IUI, is one of the first-line treatments at Texas Fertility Center. Erika Munch MD can perform this effective and affordable fertility treatment with or without medications. If our San Antonio infertility doctor determines that it’s appropriate to use fertility medications for IUI, this is called a medicated IUI cycle. Performing such a cycle can help increase your likelihood of conceiving and welcoming a healthy baby.
The first steps of a medicated IUI cycle involve medication and monitoring
The goal of taking fertility medications for IUI is to stimulate your ovaries to mature and ovulate multiple eggs at the same time. This process is called ovarian stimulation, and it is the first step of a medicated cycle. During this step, you will take fertility medications for about two weeks. These medications can be oral, such as Clomid or Letrozole, or injectable gonadotrophins. At our clinic, you will have two IUI procedures if you’re using gonadotrophins.
While you’re taking fertility medications for IUI, Dr. Munch will have you regularly visit the office for monitoring via bloodwork and ultrasounds. The goal is to make sure your egg-containing follicles are maturing. She also wants to ensure that your body isn’t producing too many eggs, as that situation could result in a pregnancy with multiples. At Texas Fertility Center, our goal is to help our patients conceive one baby at a time, because this is healthier and safer for the mother and the child.
Once one or two of your follicles are the appropriate size, you will receive a so-called “trigger shot.” This shot will cause your follicles to release the eggs, allowing the eggs to travel toward the fallopian tubes. This is where the eggs will meet the sperm and fertilization will occur during a medicated IUI cycle.
The final steps include semen preparation and the insemination
About 36 hours after the trigger shot, you will visit our San Antonio infertility doctor for your IUI cycle. On the same day, your partner will provide a semen sample by masturbating into a sterile collection cup. Our andrologists in the IVF laboratory will then prepare the sample to ensure that it contains the maximum number of high-quality sperm.
To perform the medicated IUI cycle, Dr. Munch will have you lie on an exam table and rest your feet in the supports. She will then insert a speculum and a thin, flexible tube (catheter) into the vagina. Finally, she will use the catheter to insert the prepared sperm through the vagina and the cervix to reach the uterus. This entire process takes less than five minutes, and most women only experience mild cramping.
After having this procedure, your chance of conceiving depends on the type of medication you took. An IUI cycle with Clomid typically produces pregnancy rates of 8-12%, while gonadotropin IUI cycles produce pregnancy rates of 15-25%. This is compared to unmedicated IUI cycles and their rates of 6-10%.
Ready to learn more about fertility treatments like intrauterine insemination? Contact us to schedule a consultation with our San Antonio infertility doctor. She’ll explain your different family-building options.