Assisted Conception Treatments

Eight out of 10 couples who have sex regularly, get pregnant within a year of trying. The majority of other couples will get pregnant within two years of trying. If you have been trying to get pregnant for a year without success, speak to your physician.

However, some couples continue to have difficulties. Assisted conception means using reproductive technology to increase your chances of getting pregnant, often paired with fertility drugs. The younger you are, the greater your chance of success of conceiving through these treatments.

1. Intrauterine insemination (IUI): A low-tech treatment in which sperms are inserted directly into the woman's uterus at the time of ovulation. The treatment takes between five and ten minutes, but requires the patient to have at least one healthy fallopian tube.
2. In vitro fertilisation (IVF): This technique is also known as "Test tube Baby treatment." Eggs are gathered from your ovaries and combined with your partner's sperm in a laboratory dish. The resulting embryos are transplanted to your uterus.
3. Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT): Your eggs are removed, mixed together with your partner's sperm in a dish in a laboratory and then placed into your fallopian tubes. Fertilization happens inside your body and the embryo implants naturally.
4. Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): It is normally used to help couples who have had a failed IVF treatment, and couples in which the male partner has a low sperm count or other sperm problems. Here, a single sperm is injected directly into a single egg in the laboratory and the resulting embryo is transplanted into your uterus.
5. The use of donated sperm: if a man has a low sperm count or produces no sperm at all, the donor sperm may be used in intrauterine insemination (IUI). The sperm is inseminated into the womb after ovulation has been precisely timed.
6. The use of donated eggs or embryos: if you are unable to conceive using your own eggs, an egg donated by another woman can be mixed with your partner's sperm and the resulting embryo is implanted in your uterus. This procedure can also be done with a donated embryo.
7. Surrogacy: another woman carries your embryo, or a donor embryo, to term and gives the baby to you after birth.

If you are considering fertility treatments, speak to your physician or counselor to help you deal with emotions and decisions along the way!