What is IUI and IVF?
- Posted on: Mar 24 2023
Getting pregnant and having a baby is more difficult than it sounds. Sometimes people struggle to achieve this for many years. Fortunately, medical technology has advanced and there are methods to help people get pregnant and have a baby. Two of those methods are intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
What is IUI?
IUI is an acronym that stands for intrauterine insemination, which is a medical procedure. During this medical procedure, sperm is injected into the uterus. This decreases the amount of distance the sperm has to travel and increases the amount of sperm that gets a chance to fertilize the egg. IUI gives you a better chance at the sperm reaching the egg and fertilizing it.
What is IVF?
IVF is an acronym that stands for in-vitro fertilization. IVF involves more steps and technology than IUI. The steps include egg stimulation, retrieval, lab fertilization, and transfer. In most cases, a female’s body produces only one follicle a month which contains eggs. With IVF, injectable hormones are taken to help you produce more follicles and therefore more eggs. The eggs are then retrieved and sent to a lab to be combined with sperm to create an embryo. The embryos can then be transferred to a uterus to get pregnant or frozen to save for future use.
Should I Do IUI or IVF?
The decision of whether to do IUI or IVF will depend on the cause of your infertility, age, and medical history. The first step in making the decision to have IUI or IVF is talking with your gynecological healthcare provider. Oftentimes, IUI will be recommended as a first step because it is less expensive and less invasive than IVF. If you are struggling to become pregnant or are considering IUI or IVF, make an appointment with your gynecological health care provider.
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Posted in: Women's Health