Intrauterine insemination, or IUI for short, is an infertility treatment where a thin, flexible catheter is inserted through the cervix so that washed sperm can be placed directly into the uterus. It is a fast treatment that only takes about two minutes to complete and that’s only because the catheter is inserted and removed slowly to prevent as much discomfort as possible. As long as the semen is delivered to the clinic where the treatment will be scheduled in 30 minutes or less, an IUI procedure can be performed on the same day of delivery.
IUI Gender Statistics
1. Women under 35 have a 10 to 20 percent chance of getting pregnant during an IUI cycle.
2. Women between 35 and 40 have a 10 percent chance of getting pregnant using IUI when using fertility drugs.
3. The chance in percentage form of women above the age of 40 who may get pregnant from an IUI procedure: 5%.
4. For women who reach the age of 43, the success rate drops to just 1%.
5. Women who lie down for 15 minutes after IUI were 10% more likely to get pregnant during that cycle than women who got up following the procedure.
6. The group that rested had artificial insemination success rates of 27%, compared to the 17% of women who achieved a pregnancy after getting up immediately.
7. IUI with donor sperm had an 86% chance of success when all cycles were combined.
8. The chances of having a boy from an IUI procedure is 51%, or just slightly above what a pregnancy without the procedure will have.
9. In a study of 320 pregnancies from AI were examined, when only single births were considered, the first study group had 46.1% males in 89 term pregnancies.
10. In the second study group, the percentage of male pregnancies: 60.5% out of 162 total pregnancies.
11. There is a 15% chance that a spontaneous abortion will occur for a pregnancy that was created through an IUI procedure.
12. Clomid and IUI success rates are about 10% per month for women under 35 if the tubes are open by ahysterosalpingogram (HSG) and semen analysis is normal.
13. This above statistic about Clomid holds true for about 3 cycles – after that it is significantly lower.
14. If a man’s total mobile sperm count is below 1 to 5 million, success is unlikely during an IUI procedure no matter how many times it may be performed.
15. Having endometriosis cuts the success rates of a pregnancy from an IUI procedure by 50%.
16. Advanced versions of endometriosis has a 75% reduced chance of a pregnancy compared to mile cases of endometriosis with an IUI.
17. First time IUI success rates are somewhat higher than for additional attempts. Several studies have shown that 90% of IUI successes are in the first 3 cycles
18. A couple that has been trying for a year and a half and does not have tubal problems, sperm problems, or endometriosis has about a 2% chance per month.
Seeing Results with IUI
IUI sees its best results when performed about 6 hours on either side of a scheduled ovulation window. This is especially true when male infertility is involved with the process and many doctors see implantation after ovulation as a best practice. Most women believe that this infertility treatment is pretty painless, comparing it to the feeling of having a Pap smear. Some women report having some cramping after the fact, but this is usually in regards to the ovulation happening instead of the procedure.
The washed sperm that are inserted into the uterus have a survival lifespan of up to 72 hours. Many women will have more than one procedure completed immediately after ovulation to maximize the chances of becoming pregnant. You won’t be lying down if you have an IUI performed because that naturally closes the cervix, but many doctors prefer to have women lie down for about 30 minutes after the procedure is completed to maximize the chances of a pregnancy.
There are a number of questions that many couples have regarding intrauterine insemination. Will the baby have a greater chance of being one gender over the other? Are there greater risks of birth defects? These statistics on IUI gender and other fascinating outcomes of this infertility treatment will hopefully answer all of your questions.
What the Facts Say
The issue with IUI gender statistics and even the success statistics is that everything is eventually out of the doctor’s hands. The sperm can be inserted, made mobile, and a woman can do everything right and still not get pregnant because nature has a lot of work to do. Th sperm might not decide to swim to the end of the fallopian tube. The eggs a woman has may not ovulate in time. The sperm might not even be able to fertilize the eggs.
What we do know is that women who have a healthier body tend to have better results when it comes to intrauterine insemination. As long as there aren’t issues with the ovaries, the eggs, or other health issues, the first 3 months of seeking IUI treatments should be very exciting indeed. That’s because the greatest chances of success will happen then. Of course an IUI treatment is not a guarantee for a pregnancy – far from it, especially for women above the age of 43. That’s true, however, for all women. Age is a factor in the chances of a pregnancy.
There is one question that all couples eventually face: is having an IUI the right decision to make? That’s a question for a couple and a doctor to answer together. The success rates may not be as high as other methods of infertility treatment, but the treatment itself is more of a natural process instead of an artificial one. When combined with infertility drugs, as the statistics on IUI gender and success show, intrauterine insemination does seem to help women have a better chance of achieving a pregnancy.