IUI: a simple first step, with a limit agreed first.

IUI treatment places washed, concentrated sperm inside the womb at the time of ovulation, so more moving sperm start closer to the egg.

The semen sample is washed in the lab to remove the fluid and keep the moving sperm. A soft, fine catheter passes through the cervix and releases them into the womb. Fertilisation still has to happen inside the fallopian tube, on its own. That is the main difference from IVF, where eggs and sperm meet in the lab.

IUI suits couples with unexplained infertility, a mildly low sperm count, ovulation problems such as PCOS, mild endometriosis, difficulty with intercourse, or donor sperm.

Three things must be true first: you ovulate (or tablets can make you), at least one tube is open, and the washed sperm sample is good enough. If both tubes are blocked, the sperm count is very low, endometriosis is severe or egg reserve is low, IUI mostly costs time. IVF is then the shorter road.

The IUI procedure itself takes a few minutes: a speculum, as in a smear test, then a fine catheter passes the washed sperm into the womb.

Your partner gives a sample that morning and the lab prepares it, which takes about an hour. You lie on a couch; there is no anaesthesia and no cutting. Most women feel it as uncomfortable rather than painful, with some cramping. You can get up and go home straight after.

Your chance with IUI depends mostly on the woman's age and egg reserve, whether the tubes are open, how many moving sperm are left after washing, and how long you have been trying.

Well-timed cycles with a mature follicle matter too. A clinic-wide percentage tells you little, because it depends on which couples that clinic treats. At the first consultation we go through your own age, tests and history and tell you what IUI can realistically do for you, including when it is unlikely to help.

At Jananam the number of IUI cycles is agreed by age before you start: fewer as age rises, and IVF sooner if egg reserve is low.

If IUI is going to work for a couple, it usually does so in the first few well-timed cycles. Many couples come to us after a year of repeated IUI because no one set a limit. Cycles are done back to back, and the plan changes early if a tube turns out blocked or the sperm count falls.

You can go back to normal life after IUI; bed rest does not improve the chance of pregnancy.

A blood pregnancy test is done about 14 days after the IUI. Testing earlier can mislead, because the trigger injection contains the same hormone the test looks for. For travel, food, work and the two-week wait, read our full aftercare guide.