Who it is for
Insemination requires at least one patent tube and usable sperm. On that basis it suits mild sperm abnormalities, hostile cervical mucus, ejaculation disorders, unexplained infertility, and every project that goes through donor sperm — female couples and single women where the law allows.
The technical figure that matters is the count of motile sperm after preparation. Below one million the chances become very low and IVF is offered instead.
Step by step
- Light stimulation: the target is one or two follicles, no more.
- Trigger: one injection, then insemination thirty-six hours later.
- The sample: produced the same day, after two to five days' abstinence.
- Preparation: about an hour. The sample is washed, spun on a gradient, and only motile sperm are kept in a small volume. Seminal fluid must be removed: injected as it is, it would cause painful contractions.
- The procedure: a soft catheter passes the cervix and the preparation is placed in the cavity. Two to three minutes, much like a smear test, occasionally a brief cramp. Ten minutes lying down afterwards, for comfort rather than effect.
- After: normal activity resumes at once, including sport and sex. A blood test fourteen days later.
The numbers
10 to 15 % pregnancies per attempt under 35, around 5 % after 40. These rates accumulate: over four to six cycles a substantial share of suitable couples conceive. Beyond that the curve flattens — further attempts add almost nothing and cost time that matters.
What hurts, what does not
The procedure is rarely painful; when it is, the cervix is the cause, and a different catheter usually solves it. Light bleeding is ordinary. Fever, increasing pain or offensive discharge in the following days warrant a call: infection is rare but real.