What are the steps of artificial insemination?

For women who cannot get pregnant naturally, artificial insemination is the only way to get pregnant. However, people who have not undergone artificial insemination generally don’t know about the process of artificial insemination. In fact, the procedure of artificial insemination is very simple. If we understand the process of artificial insemination, we can be mentally prepared. The procedure of artificial insemination is introduced below.

Artificial conception procedure

First of all, infertile women who undergo artificial insemination need to undergo a detailed gynecological examination to check whether their internal and external genitalia are normal, whether the endometrial biopsy gland secretions are good, whether the bilateral fallopian tubes are unobstructed, etc. Only if these are normal, they are qualified to undergo artificial insemination. Then you need to estimate the day of ovulation to choose the best time for insemination. Commonly used methods for estimating the ovulation date include measuring basal body temperature, cervical mucus (usually appears 4-5 days before ovulation), or continuously measuring the peak level of urinary luteinizing hormone close to the ovulation day, or continuous vaginal ultrasound examinations.

Before the woman's estimated ovulation period, the sperm donor or the husband masturbates to extract semen, which needs to be tested. If the results show that the semen density and activity are normal, wait for the semen to liquefy and then use a syringe or catheter to inject the semen into the vagina, around the cervix and into the cervical canal. The woman should rest in bed for 2-3 hours to prevent semen from being discharged.

Each woman can undergo artificial insemination three times in a menstrual cycle, starting three days before ovulation. If calculated by hours, it would be done once 72 hours, 24 hours before ovulation, and 24 hours after ovulation. If conception fails in one menstrual cycle, several cycles can be repeated. If necessary, drugs can be used to induce ovulation and adjust the ovulation period to increase the pregnancy rate. The success or failure of artificial insemination is generally determined by 12 cycles.

Safety of artificial insemination

No matter how advanced the technology is, it will carry certain risks. It is necessary to understand the safety of each technology. For those who are concerned about artificial insemination, how safe is it? Artificial insemination has the risk of multiple pregnancies (commonly known as multiple births). This is because artificial insemination technology often requires the use of ovulation-promoting drugs to increase the success rate of conception. In this way, multiple eggs may combine with sperm at the same time to form multiple births.

In addition, the risk of perinatal complications, congenital malformations, low birth weight, and postnatal developmental problems for single-baby pregnancies conceived through artificial insemination is higher than that for those conceived naturally. Therefore, if it is indeed due to physical reasons that one cannot conceive naturally, then artificial insemination is still a viable option; if it is just to satisfy the desire to have twins and let the expectant mother and future baby take unnecessary risks, then it is somewhat unreasonable.