IUI / IVF
by littlebud.com
For those having trouble conceiving naturally, IUI and IVF could be the next step. Over 250,000 babies in the UK, and over five million worldwide, have been born this way.
IUI (intrauterine insemination) involves separating fast and slow swimmers from a fresh semen sample and inserting the fast ones into the womb. Often a precursor to IVF, the procedure is timed to happen just after ovulation.
It’s quick and pretty painless. With IVF (in vitro fertilisation), women are given hormones to stimulate follicles in the ovary: any eggs released are removed under anaesthetic and mixed with sperm in a laboratory.
Fertilised embryos are then transferred to the uterus.