IVF & IUI
- Camila Caster
- Mar 26
- 4 min read
We know this is hard topic to talk about and we want you to be equipped the knowledge you need to make the best decision for you and your family. There are many people who struggle with infertility and getting pregnant. You are not alone! There are also many reasons besides infertility that people choose assistive reproductive technology to conceive, and that is okay too!
IUI is a way providers can help people get pregnant. People choose IUI for many reasons, such as infertility issues, or as a reproductive option for same-sex female couples or females who wish to have a baby without a partner, using a sperm donor.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI), a type of artificial insemination, is a fertility treatment where sperm is placed directly into a woman's uterus. With IUI, the sperm is collected, washed and concentrated so that only high-quality sperm remain. This sperm is placed directly into your uterus with a catheter (thin tube), putting it closer to your fallopian tubes. IUI makes it easier for the sperm to reach an egg because it cuts down on the time and distance it has to travel. This increases your chance of becoming pregnant. Healthcare providers often try IUI before other more invasive and expensive fertility treatments. IUI can be performed with your partner’s sperm or with donor sperm. A woman may take fertility drugs to ensure eggs are released during ovulation.
The timeline for the IUI procedure is approximately four weeks (around 28 days) from beginning to end. It’s about the same length as a regular menstrual cycle.
Before starting the IUI process, you (and your partner) will have a thorough examination that could include bloodwork, semen analysis, ultrasound and other diagnostics.
Some people are given oral fertility medicine for five days or injectable medication for up to two weeks. This increases your chances of ovulation and releasing multiple eggs. Not all people require these medications.
Insemination is a quick process. It takes a few minutes to insert the sperm. Your healthcare provider may ask you to lie down for around 15 minutes afterward.
You can take a pregnancy test two weeks after insemination.
Another form of reproductive technology is In-vitro fertilization (IVF) which is one of several techniques available to help people with fertility problems have a baby. You can do IVF for oneself or as a surrogate carrier. During IVF, an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized egg, called an embryo, is then returned to the woman's womb to grow and develop. It is usually with your eggs and your partner's sperm, or eggs and sperm from donors.
IVF involves 6 main stages:
Suppressing your natural cycle – your menstrual cycle is suppressed with medicine
Helping your ovaries produce extra eggs – medicine is used to encourage your ovaries to produce more than 1 egg at a time
Monitoring your progress and maturing your eggs – an ultrasound scan is carried out to check the development of the eggs, and medicine is used to help them mature
Collecting the eggs – a needle is inserted through your vagina and into your ovaries to remove the eggs
Fertilizing the eggs – the eggs are mixed with the sperm for a few days to allow them to be fertilized
Transferring the embryo(s) – 1 or 2 fertilized eggs (embryos) are placed into your womb
Once the embryo(s) has been transferred into your womb, you'll need to wait 2 weeks before taking a pregnancy test to see if the treatment has worked.
ACOG says that having a pregnancy using assisted reproductive technology is one of the most prevalent risk factors associated with stillbirth. In another cohort based out of Denmark, the NIH found a "systematically increased risk of stillbirth in low-risk term pregnancies following IVF." According to Science Daily that number is specifically 4X more risk for stillbirth after IVF. Speak to your providers and be aware of all the risks associated with IVF.
Below are some numbers from PubMed for your reference when you speak to your providers.
Adverse Pregnancy Outcome | Risk in IVF/ICSI Singleton Birth |
Preterm birth | 10.9% |
Very preterm birth | 2.4% |
Low birth weight | 8.7% |
Very low birth weight | 2.0% |
Small for gestational age | 7.1% |
Perinatal mortality | 1.1% |
Congenital Malformations | 5.7% |
Type of Conception | Risk of Stillbirth |
IVF/ICSI | 16.2% |
Non-IVF ART | 2.3% |
Fertile spontaneous | 3.7% |
Subfertile spontaneous | 5.4% |
If you find yourself in this situation, don't be scared, be aware and empowered!
Some good questions to ask your provider can be:
What risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes do I have if I am an IUI or IVF pregnancy taking into consideration all of my other risk factors?
What can we do together to lower these risks?
Ask about kick counting
Ask about high-risk pregnancy testing and extra monitoring
READY TO LEARN MORE? There's plenty more #empoweredpregnancy goodness where that came from! Head back to the Empowered Pregnancy Overview to for even more empowerment. #UnitedWePush