Who IUI helps

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) can be appropriate treatment for:

• Women without ovulatory disorders
  Because sperm (separated from the liquid portion of the semen) are inseminated into the uterus, it is important that the woman has no other obvious fertility problems. Tests should show that the woman is ovulating normally, has open fallopian tubes, and has a normal uterine cavity.
  
  
• Women with ovulatory disorders
  IUI can still be effective in women with ovulatory disorders, provided they respond well to fertility drugs.
  
  
• Women with endometriosis
  There has been some success with IUI in cases where a woman has endometriosis but has a normal pelvic structure. This is a very common disorder, particularly for women in their thirties who haven’t had children. Women with mild endometriosis are usually treated similarly to women with unexplained infertility.
  
  
• Men with reasonable sperm function
  Because IUI relies on the natural ability of sperm to fertilize an egg within the reproductive tract, it is important that tests for male infertility show reasonable sperm function in terms of numbers, motility (movement) and morphology (shape).