At-Home Insemination Guide

Artificial insemination is not a new process. It has been around for centuries and it has been used to successfully impregnate both humans and animals. Today artificial insemination is considered a form of assisted reproductive technology. 

It has become an option for women who can get pregnant but are unable to for one reason or another. Not only that, it can be done in the comfort of your home, making it a quick and affordable way to conceive, especially since fertility treatments can be quite expensive when paying out of pocket. 

However, when doing artificial insemination at home, you must consider some key factors. Here’s an in-depth guide on at-home insemination.  

Key Takeaways

• At-home insemination is an affordable, less invasive alternative to other fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization or intrauterine insemination.
• While it is not as consistent as some other forms of therapy, it can still yield reliable results if used for multiple rounds of treatments.
• At-home insemination is a popular choice for couples in which neither partner naturally produces sperm or couples in which a partner who does naturally produce semen is experiencing infertility.

What is Artificial Insemination?

Artificial insemination is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) or fertility treatment where sperm is collected either from the male partner or a sperm donor and implanted directly into the uterus using a small catheter.

Artificial insemination is a great option for many couples because it is significantly cheaper than other forms of assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization or IVF. Unless there are underlying conditions, fertility specialists offer artificial insemination as the first line of fertility treatment. The pregnancy outcome of artificial insemination is relatively high. 

At-Home Insemination 

At-home insemination, also called ICI treatment (Intracervical Insemination), is a type of artificial insemination that allows you to perform the procedure yourself in the comfort of your home. You can use your partner's sperm or a donor’s. However, fresh sperm has a higher success rate than frozen sperm in this method. This is because fresh sperm is viable for a few days, while frozen sperm, once thawed, is only viable for 12-24 hours.

How to Increase At-Home Insemination Success Rate

At-home insemination has to be timed perfectly with ovulation for you to receive the best results. Still, the process can take several rounds before you see a successful pregnancy. To increase your chances of success, you should:

• Eat a healthy diet: To prepare for the insemination, ensure you eat clean. This means your diet should be nutrient-packed with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains. 
• Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine. Research done on alcohol and caffeine consumption has shown that overconsumption of alcohol and caffeine can affect fertility resulting in a 50% reduction in the probability of conception. 
• Take your supplements. Supplements rich in iron, folic, and other prenatal vitamins like omega-3 fats are an added benefit to women seeking to improve their fertility before an at-home insemination procedure.
• Time the insemination with ovulation. As mentioned, insemination should be done during ovulation, particularly the day before ovulation or within 48 hours of ovulation. Many women use an ovulation tracker to help track when they are most fertile.  
• Avoid strenuous activity. While exercise is great for the body, any strenuous activity before the insemination should be avoided as it can interfere with implantation and increase the body's core temperature. You can move your body in other ways including yoga, swimming, and walking, which will elevate your heart rate without putting stress on your body. 
• Don’t ejaculate before sperm collection. The male partner should avoid ejaculating  1 to 3 days before the insemination. This is because ejaculation will reduce the semen and sperm sample that will be used in the insemination and the sample has to be large in volume to maximize the number of sperm. 
• Understand how to use the at-home insemination kit. If you choose to use an at-home insemination kit, make sure you understand the instructions before using it. Each kit is different but most contain a soft-tipped syringe, some sample collection containers, a long, thin catheter, or the needle you will insert directly into the vagina. As you prepare yourself, you should ensure you handle the sample and the instruments with washed hands to avoid cross-contamination. 
• Don’t use a lubricant. Vaginal lubricants can be toxic to sperm and can reduce sperm motility by 49%. Lubrication can also disrupt the sterile environment needed for insemination and potentially impact your chances of conception success.
• Don’t insert too far. While you may have the desire to increase your chances, inserting the syringe too far can cause cramping or pain. This means that the syringe has gone too far. 
• Lie down after. Once you're done, lie down for some time. Ensure you pee before you begin the process to avoid getting up or tainting the insemination. Also, don't attempt to clean yourself up.
• Avoid peeing after the insemination. Though urine travels out of the body from the bladder through the urethra (a completely separate tract from the reproductive system) you should wait to pee at least 30 minutes after an at-home insemination procedure. In fact, you should use the bathroom before you start the process. 

At-home insemination vs insemination at the clinic

Insemination done at home is different than when it’s done at a clinic like Ivy Fertility. To begin with, ovarian stimulation is done at the clinic. This ensures the ovaries only release mature eggs, which maximizes the success of conception. 

However, insemination done at home has too many variables, which can affect the results. Still, according to a 2021 study, individuals who participated in at-home insemination have more than a 40% success rate, making it an effective form of treatment for many people. 

Additionally, fertility specialists at the clinic can induce ovulation to promote the best time for fertilization. They are also able to not only isolate sperm and inject them during the process but also correctly insert the sperm during artificial insemination. This ensures that the maximum possible number of mobile sperm reaches the fallopian tubes. 

Bottom Line.

Artificial insemination is a procedure that treats infertility by boosting the chances of pregnancy. It can be done at a fertility clinic but some prospective parents prefer to do it at home. When done at home, one has to time it to ovulation and ensure it's done in a clean environment.