Intrauterine insemination, also known as artificial insemination, is a medical technique used to treat some problems with fertility. In this procedure, the sperm of the man is treated in the lab to improve its media and concentrate the best sperms into a sample that is injected by the doctor into the uterus of the woman through the cervix during her ovulation.
This procedure is an early step in managing infertility in couples:
- with unexplained problems in fertility
- where the woman has an inability to ovulate correctly
- where the man has a low sperm count
- where the man has decreased sperm mobility
If artificial insemination is performed when a woman has ovulated, the success rates can reach around 20% depending on age, the reason for infertility, whether fertility drugs were used, or other variables.