MEDICAL OPTIONS FOR COUPLE'S INFERTILITY

If a woman does not become pregnant after treatment with medical and surgical techniques, she may choose to undergo more complex procedures, called ART, after consulting with her health care provider

       These include:

       1.     INTRAUTERINE INSEMINATION (IUI)

       2.     INVITRO FERTILIZATION

       3.     THIRD PARTY ASSISTED ART  

1.     INTRAUTERINE INSEMINATION (IUI)

       

Intrauterine insemination (pronounced IN-truh-YOO-ter-in in-sem-uh-NEY-shuhn) (IUI) is the placement of a man’s sperm into a woman’s uterus using a long narrow tube.

More information on IUI includes the following:

IUI is most effective for treating:

1.   Women who have scaring or defects of the cervix

2.   Men who have low sperm counts

3.   Men who have sperm with low mobility

4.   Men who cannot get erections

5.   Men who have retrograde ejaculation, a condition in which sperm are ejaculated into the bladder instead of out of the penis.

2.     INVITRO FERTILIZATION

During in vitro fertilization (IVF), eggs and sperm are taken from the couple and are incubated together in a laboratory to produce an embryo. A health care provider places the embryo into the woman’s uterus, where it may implant ans result in a successful pregnancy.

The steps of IVF are:

·         Stimulation of Egg Maturation

·         Egg Retrieval

·         Fertilization

·         Embryo Transfer

3.      THIRD PARTY ASSISTED ART

When couples do not achieve pregnancy from infertility treatment or traditional ART, they may choose to use a third party assisted ART method to have a child. Assistance can consist of:

·         Sperm Donation

·         Egg Donation

·         Surrogates and Gestational Carriers