IUI candidates often find that this treatment helps them welcome a healthy baby

The team at Texas Fertility Center works with each patient to determine which fertility treatment will give them the best chance of having a healthy baby. Sometimes, Erika Munch MD recommends in vitro fertilization (IVF) to her patients. In other cases, the more-basic option of intrauterine insemination (IUI), or artificial insemination, is all that a patient needs to conceive. This leaves many people wondering what types of patients make good IUI candidates.

Before moving forward with IUI, our San Antonio infertility doctor will take the time to explain this treatment option and answer any questions about it. Dr. Munch’s goal is to ensure that each patient feels empowered as they move forward on their path to parenthood.

What types of patients make good IUI candidates?

At the most basic level, intrauterine insemination is a good option for patients who have had trouble conceiving naturally. However, determining whether someone is a good candidate for IUI depends on several other factors.

Good ovarian reserve (egg supply). A woman is a good candidate for IUI if she has a healthy number of viable eggs, as determined by fertility testing.

Normal semen analysis results. A man who has good sperm quality and quantity (sperm count) is more likely to have a successful IUI cycle with his partner.

Another factor that can influence the success of an IUI cycle is whether the female patient takes fertility medications. These medications can help control when a woman ovulates so that Dr. Munch can perform the IUI at just the right time.

What’s the difference between IUI and IVF?

Understanding how intrauterine insemination differs from in vitro fertilization can help with understanding why certain patients make good IUI candidates.

During intrauterine insemination, our San Antonio infertility doctor uses a thin, flexible tube to insert sperm into a patient’s uterus around the time of ovulation (egg release). This sperm can come from the patient’s partner or a sperm donor. The goal of IUI is to give the sperm a “head start” to reach the fallopian tubes. There, the sperm can fertilize the ovulated egg.

In vitro fertilization is a more-advanced treatment that involves multiple steps. First, the woman who will provide the eggs takes fertility medications to stimulate the production of multiple eggs. Dr. Munch will then retrieve the eggs during a short, outpatient procedure. Our embryologists will fertilize the eggs with sperm in the IVF lab before Dr. Munch transfers one of the resulting embryos to the uterus.

Our San Antonio infertility doctor finds that IVF is a better option than IUI in cases where patients have certain conditions affecting their fertility.

• Age-related female infertility
• Endometriosis
• Recurrent miscarriage or IVF failure
• Severe male infertility
• Tubal infertility

In vitro fertilization is also a good option for patients who have not found success after several IUI cycles.

Reach out to learn whether intrauterine insemination is right for you

You can contact us to schedule an appointment with our San Antonio infertility doctor to find out whether you’re one of the good IUI candidates. Dr. Munch is here to help you find the best path to parenthood for you.