What is artificial insemination to achieve a pregnancy

12% Of couples whose wife is between 18 and 44 years are unable to conceive after a year of unprotected sex. When this happens, it is a good time to go to a fertility specialist . After different tests, the gynecologist will recommend the most appropriate technique, one of which is usual artificial

12% of couples whose wife is between 18 and 44 years are unable to conceive after a year of unprotected sex.

When this happens, it is a good time to go to a fertility specialist. After different tests, the gynecologist will recommend the most appropriate technique, one of which is usual artificial insemination. But do you know what exactly? Who can access it?Discover what artificial insemination consists of.

What exactly is artificial insemination

Artificial insemination (AI) is an assisted reproduction treatment which involves injecting sperm with a special cannula into the uterine cavity at the time close to ovulation.

So that the chances of pregnancy are greater, the ovaries are stimulated hormonally and ovulation is controlled to determine the best time to perform the implantation.

The sperm used have been previously selected from a sample of semen that has been processed in the laboratory to improve its quality and promote pregnancy.

Insemination can be done with your partner's semen or with donor sperm. When it comes to semen of a couple, the semengram must provide minimum values, especially in terms of mobility.

Phases of artificial insemination to achieve pregnancy

Within this treatment of artificial insemination, there are several phases:

1.- Ovarian stimulation:

Through the administration of hormones we favor the multiple but controlled ovulation of women. To ensure the correct growth of the follicles that contain the ovules, our teams perform ultrasound monitoring.

The medication is applied orally or subcutaneously in very low doses and is very easy to administer. The medication process usually takes between 10 and 12 days.

Phase 2.- Sperm training:

In this process we select and process the sperm with greater mobility to improve their fertilizing capacity.

Phase 3.- Insemination:

Sperm are deposited inside the uterus, in order to bring them closer to the place where fertilization takes place and thus facilitate conception. This phase is done in just a few minutes, it is not painful and does not require analgesia or prior anesthesia.

In which cases artificial insemination is recommended

There are different situations in which artificial insemination is recommended:

1. When a couple produces healthy sperm and eggs but due to some dysfunction it is not possible for the sperm to fertilize the ovum, for example when it comes to erectile dysfunction, or when there is a cervical factor or alterations in the cervix that prevent the mucus necessary for the sperm to reach the uterus.

2. Endometriosis (link to article on endometriosis) causes the cells inside the uterus to grow outside the uterine cavity, for example, in the ovaries or fallopian tubes. This makes pregnancy difficult. In cases of mild endometriosis, artificial insemination can be a successful option.

3. Some women develop allergic reactions to certain sperm proteins. With artificial insemination can be filtering them before the sperm are deposited in the uterus.

4. In cases of male infertility and depending on minimum values ​​of quality and quantity of sperm is a technique that can be applied because it allows the improvement of the sample to inseminate.

Some medical treatments are associated with the risk of male infertility, for example, radiotherapy. Sperm freezing prior to the application of a treatment that is harmful to the sperm will preserve the reproductive capacity.

5. Of course, when a woman independently or a couple of women want to get pregnant they can use donor sperm to get it.

To finish, mention that sometimes, there are no clear causes for infertility, in these cases, this technique is also recommended. As a summary, these are the main situations in which artificial insemination is recommended:

- Coital difficulties (ex: vaginismus)

- Cervical mucus alterations.

- Mild endometriosis.

- Mild alterations of the semengram.

- Immune factor with low antibody titer.

- Cervical factor and alterations of the cervix.

- Ovulatory disorders.

- Sterility of unknown origin.

The effectiveness depends on each case and a determining factor is the age of the woman. Sometimes this technique has an effectiveness higher than 30%.

D. José Manuel Pintado

Medical Director and Head of the Reproduction Unit of the Pintado Medical Center