Baby Making

Artificial insemination sounds like an elaborate scientific procedure that involves extensive tests, heavy drugs, and big needles. On the contrary, artificial insemination is actually quite a simple method of treating infertility. It is also a relatively inexpensive procedure compared to the other scientific ways of becoming pregnant. Artificial insemination is the scientific method that doctors initially recommend to couples who have trouble having a baby. 

Firstly, what is artificial insemination? Artificial insemination is the method of conception wherein the male's sperm is introduced into the woman's uterus or cervix via other means other than sexual intercourse. 

Artificial insemination is not as modern and as high-tech as some people may think. In fact, the first record of artificial insemination was documented as early as in the middle 1400s. It was first attempted on the wife of King Henry IV who ruled Castile from 1454 to 1474. The early development of artificial insemination was a slow process but a flurry of improved methods was introduced in 20^th century. To this day, more studies are being made for the advancement of artificial insemination.

How would you know if artificial insemination is for you? Not all couples who are infertile qualify for artificial insemination. Candidates for this scientific conception method are:

-          Men with low sperm counts

-          Men who cannot ejaculate into the woman's vagina (maybe because of diabetes or a spinal cord injury)

-          Men who are undergoing vasectomy, chemotherapy, or other sperm-destroying medical procedures and want to save their sperm for future use

-          Women who have endometriosis

-          Women have irregular reproductive organ parts

-          Women with hostile or unreceptive cervical mucus 

What happens in artificial insemination? Before the procedure, the doctor will conduct a thorough inspection of the man and the woman. The doctor will check the couple's medical histories, conduct blood tests, use ovulation kits, and a host of other examinations to ensure compatibility of the couple with artificial insemination. 

When it is the woman's ovulation period, the man will be asked to produce semen which must then be washed. Sperm washing is a necessary process which separates the sperm from the semen thereby increasing the chances of fertilization. 

After this, artificial insemination takes place. The sperm is placed into a tube called a catheter and inserted into the woman. This may be done through five different means and these are intracervical, intrauterine, intravaginal, intrafallopian, and intraperitoneal. The most common technique is insemination through the cervix and the uterus. 

Artificial insemination has no "down time". After insemination, the woman will only be asked to stay at the clinic for less than an hour and then she may go back to her daily routine. 

The total cost of artificial insemination is about $2,000 to $3,000 compared with the nearly $10,000 that couples have to spend on in vitro fertilization. 

The success rate of artificial insemination varies from couple to couple and it may be affected by other factors such as the age of the woman, the quality of the man's sperm, and etc. Remember that it may take several tries over a period of time before artificial insemination works for you.