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ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
Artificial insemination is the placing of semen in the neck
of the womb. This procedure is normally carried out when for
some reason your partner is unable to maintain an erection or
successfully deposit sperm into the vagina. The sperm used in this procedure can be from the husband (AIH)
or from an unknown donor (AID). The latter usually being
reserved for couples who are at risk of genetic disorders, or
when there is a problem with the husbands' sperm count. For the best chance of success it would be necessary that it
take place when the woman is ovulating, therefore she would
have to make use of the ovulation/temperature chart, and when
the conditions are favourable that her and her partner visit
the clinic. The man would then produce a 'fresh' semen sample,
which would then be injected into the cervical canal via a
thin plastic tube. After approximately half an hour the couple
would be allowed to leave the clinic, having just experienced
what is known as 'artificial insemination with the husband's
semen' or 'AIH'.
The success rate of this procedure can be fairly high,
although that all depends on whether fresh or frozen sperm was
used, and whether insemination took place at the right time.
In the case of fresh semen being used, the chances of a woman
conceiving over a period of six months is about 70%. This
figure decreases to around 35% when a frozen sample is used.
Self-Help
A self-help version to this treatment does exist, one easy
enough to perform at home by using a vaginal diaphragm. After determining the exact time of ovulation, by using the
ovulation/temperature chart, the woman inserts the diaphragm -
which contains a semen sample, into her vagina, and is left in
position for a couple of hours. This allows for the sperm to
remain in a position favourable to conception.
As with AIH, this procedure would probably need to be repeated
a couple of times during the women's so called fertile stage
for it to be effective. However, it is possible that through
too many failed attempts, the couple become frustrated,
resulting in more a psychological problem than a technical
one, so it is for this reason that one does not set all hopes
on the DIY method, and refuse further investigations as to why
it failed. |
