Artificial (intrauterine) insemination

For intrauterine insemination, the woman lies down and the doctor uses a speculum to hold the vagina open. A thin catheter is inserted through the cervix into the uterus, close to the opening of the fallopian tubes. The sperm are injected through the catheter so they can swim up the fallopian tubes to the egg or eggs. For many women, the procedure does not hurt, but some find it very uncomfortable to have a catheter passed through the cervix.

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After the procedure, the woman will usually rest for 10 or 15 minutes lying down, and after that can return to all normal activities, including intercourse.

Insemination may be used in conjunction with tests to predict ovulation at home or with medications for ovulation induction. The medications would be given at lower doses than those given for in vitro fertilization, because fewer eggs are needed. (For example, while 10 eggs might be a good number to work with for IVF, it would be dangerous for that many eggs to be fertilized in the body.)

Insemination used to be done by depositing the sperm in the vagina, but this is now usually done in cases where the woman wants to do the insemination at home, or cannot have a speculum inserted.

The sperm may come either from the male partner, who produces a sample of semen that is treated in the laboratory to concentrate the sperm, or from a donor.