Before doing the actual procedure, you will be evaluated for hormonal imbalance, infection and any structural issues.  If you are a right candidate for the procedure, then you may be put on a range of fertility-boosting medications that will help make your egg mature and ready to be fertilized.  If ovulation-stimulating drugs are used, careful monitoring is required.  Blood tests and ultrasound scans from around six months of woman’s cycle will be performed as part of the monitoring process.  These tests results will throw light on the maturation of eggs.  As the time of implanting the sperm is very crucial, doctors monitor of signs of ovulation.  It occurs generally once in every menstrual cycle when an ovary releases an egg due to hormonal changes.  Your doctor or your health care specialist may have clear plan as to the timing of the procedure and what to expect out of it.

In order to avoid the risk of infection, doctors use only sterile instruments for the procedure.  To do insemination at the nick of time, the help of an at-home urine ovulation predictor kit or an imaging method that lets your doctor visualize ovaries and eggs is sought; this imaging technique is called transvaginal ultrasound.  Generally insemination is done after one or two days of detecting ovulation.  Meanwhile, your partner or donor gives the semen sample at the doctor’s office.  In some cases a vial of frozen sperm can be thawed before it is prepared for the procedure.  As the non-sperm elements in the semen can cause reactions in the woman’s body, the sperm thus collected undergoes a procedure called “sperm washing” which separates a concentration of healthy sperm.  However, if you are seeking the service of a sperm bank, the sperm thus being sent to the doctor’s clinic is already washed and ready for insemination.  Administering a small and highly concentrated sample of active sperm increases the chances of achieving pregnancy.  Some fertility clinics perform a second insemination the following day.  Some clinics also prescribe progesterone to take after the procedure and through the initial stages of pregnancy if pregnancy is achieved.

If you are currently undergoing fertility-boosting medications for intrauterine insemination and experience any of the below-mentioned symptoms, you should call your doctor right away.

• dizziness or lightheadedness
• suddenly putting on weight
• experiencing shortness of breath
• nausea and vomiting
• severe and prolonged abdominal or pelvic pain
• sudden increase in waistline

Your visit to doctor’s clinic to have intrauterine insemination may take 15 to 20 minutes and the time taken for the procedure is just a minute or two with minimal discomfort.  No medications or pain relievers are needed to carry out the procedure.  It is generally carried out by a doctor or nurse who had special training in the procedure.

Careful coordination is something that is of utmost importance for the success of this procedure.  In order to perform the procedure, you are supposed to lie down on the exam table and put your legs into the stirrups.  It is carried out by sliding a speculum through your cervix into your uterus, parallels can be drawn here with a Pap test.  The vial containing the sample of donor sperm is attached to the end of catheter.  With the help of the catheter, the sperm is then inserted into the uterus directly through the cervical opening.  This method maximizes the number of healthy sperm cells reaching the uterus.  Upon the sperm mating an egg, pregnancy happens, the fertilized egg is then implanted in the lining of your uterus.  It is done fast and anesthesia is not needed.  It is a painless procedure, though some people may experience mild cramping.  On completing the procedure, catheter is removed, followed by the speculum.