Intrauterine insemination is a frequently applied IVF method of moderate interference, during which appropriately prepared sperm is placed into the woman’s uterus. This method is adopted as a first-line treatment in couples with mild to moderate sperm disorders or with infertility that is recognized as unexplained. Other indications leading to the adoption of the method are the suspicion of cervical factor infertility (once the sperm is transferred into the uterine cavity the woman’s cervix is by-passed), and the cases of azoospermia where sperm retrieval (even by surgical operation to the testicles) is not feasible and thus donor sperm is used (heterologous intrauterine insemination).

Although intrauterine insemination can be applied during the woman’s natural cycle (through simple monitoring of her ovarian follicle), it is usually combined with mild ovarian stimulation and ovulation induction to achieve better results. Ovulation induction is performed in the ways described in the ‘ovulation induction’ paragraph. During the predicted or scheduled ovulation day the couple arrives to the IVF Unit, and the husband gives sperm which is appropriately prepared in the laboratory. A small quantity of the elaborated and improved sperm is injected through thin catheters that pass through the cervix up to the uterine cavity. This technique is almost painless for the woman and does not require any kind of anesthesia. The woman needs to stay at bed for a few minutes and then is able to leave and resume everyday activities.

The possibilities of acheiving a pregnancy after intrauterine insemination depend on how serious the infertility problem is and on the final quality of sperm (after its preparation); it should be noted however that these possibilities do not exceed an 18-20% per effort for the best of cases. Moreover, most studies agree on the point that if there is no pregnancy after 3 or 4 inseminations then we should proceed to the application of IVF.