Artificial Insemination

In the 1970s millions of people trying to conceive could whisper thanks, not to God, but to a treatment called Artificial Insemination. The most popular treatment then was the ICI or the IntraCervical Insemination, but these days the Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) process is more popularly used. Before we get more into the depths of these processes, lets understand what artificial insemination is.

Understanding Artificial Insemination
Artificial insemination is a method of fertilization where the sperm is artificially inserted into the woman’s cervix in the case of intracervical insemination or in the uterus in the case of intrauterine insemination. While a woman is actively involved in the process of artificial insemination she will have to be closely monitored, her menstrual cycle particularly, using ovarian kits, blood tests and even ultrasounds. The semen on the other hand is cleaned in a laboratory so as to remove all acidic properties that may hamper the conception process. This semen is then inserted into the woman’s body and when she conceives, it is a successful artificial insemination. Though the rate for successful artificial inseminations is low, it is placed at about 5 to 25%. These chances can increase if a woman is using fertility drugs as well. Artificial insemination is a different from fertility treatments; in fact they are a more advanced method.

Types of Artificial Insemination
We already know that in artificial insemination a tube is used to transport the concentrated and washed sperm into the reproductive tract of the woman to increase her chances of conception, but there are different methods to do this. The two major types of artificial insemination are intrauterine insemination and intracervical insemination.

Intracervical insemination – this method of artificial insemination is the most popular and most used method of artificial insemination. This method is quick, easy and painless that lets the sperm to be deposited directly into the cervix thereby increasing the chances of conception. This is because the sperm can easily travel to the uterus and fallopian tubes and fertilize the eggs. This method is more cost effective and has a higher success rate.

Intrauterine insemination – this method artificial insemination is popular among those people who do not know why they cannot conceive. It is cheaper and simple as well, and when it is combined with fertility medication it can be highly successful. In this method, the sperm is artificially inserted into the uterus and fallopian tubes.

More and more people are now using artificial insemination to conceive, where once there was no option but to be childless, today there is an option. Irrespective of whether the infertility is from the man or the woman, the options are limitless and people can conceive. A huge benefit of artificial insemination is that people can even trace genetic disorders and avoid passing them on to their children. It also gives same sex couples to conceive and have a child. But the only drawback of artificial insemination is that it is expensive, this is because of the medical expertise used and also cost of clinics, and sometimes couples do not conceive on the first attempt and have to repeat the method several times. And then there are the costs of the drug therapy and investigation and diagnosis of the problem.