Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

About Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

Intrauterine insemination is a fertility treatment in which specially washed and concentrated sperm is placed directly into the uterus around the time of ovulation, shortening the distance sperm need to travel and increasing the concentration of healthy sperm near the egg. The cycle may be natural or supported with oral or injectable medication to encourage the timed release of one or a small number of eggs, with ovulation tracked through blood tests and ultrasound to identify the optimal day for insemination. The procedure itself is quick and generally painless, involving a thin catheter passed through the cervix, and does not require anesthesia or significant downtime, so patients can typically resume normal activity immediately afterward. IUI is often recommended as a first-line treatment for mild male-factor infertility, unexplained infertility, ovulation irregularities, or for single women or same-sex couples using donor sperm, and is generally tried before moving to IVF. A single cycle usually spans about two weeks from the start of monitoring to insemination, with a pregnancy test roughly two weeks later. Because monitoring and insemination happen within a fairly short window, IUI is one of the more time-efficient fertility treatments to pursue while visiting India.