Artificial insemination is the act of placing semen into a woman’s reproductive tract without sexual intercourse. This fertility treatment is used by people who have trouble conceiving because of a problem such as low sperm count, impotence, or vaginismus (painful spasmodic contractions of the vagina). For most physicians, artificial insemination is a first-line option for an assisted reproductive technology because it’s minimally invasive and less expensive than other procedures. What’s more, success rates are respectable: With each cycle, there’s a 15 percent chance a couple will become pregnant, compared with 20 percent for natural conception.

The procedure is relatively fast and painless for both males and females. First, a physician tracks a woman’s ovulation by measuring her basal body temperature and performing sonograms, as well as examining cervical mucus and using other tests. If she has an irregular menstrual cycle, ovulation-inducing drugs are administered to guarantee the release of an egg. Next, at the expected time of ovulation, a fresh semen sample from the man is procured through masturbation and then injected with a syringe and catheter into the cervix. In cases in which sperm will be injected into the uterus, it is prepared with a procedure called washing, in which the seminal fluid is removed and replaced with a small volume of a nutrient solution. This creates a concentrated sample of active sperm, increasing the chance of fertilization and eliminating the uterine cramps the seminal fluid would cause if introduced into the uterus.

The woman is then instructed to remain supine for about 5 to 10 minutes to allow the sperm to swim up into the fallopian tubes in hopes that it will reach and fertilize the egg. If the man is sterile or if a woman wishes to become pregnant without a male partner, donor sperm are used. These sperm are donated by men and then frozen and stored in licensed sperm banks around the country.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. Artificial insemination was developed in the early 1900s in Russia for the breeding of livestock. With one bull’s sperm, thousands of calves can be produced every year.
  2. A donor insemination from a normal male is more likely to be successful than one from a man with sperm abnormalities.
  3. The procedure still remains the subject of religious and ethical controversy, despite more than half a century of clinical use.