- You might be wondering whether you should be doing
the insemination treatment or IVF treatment.
Which is the differences?
Which one is better?
Welcome to Fertile Minds, I'm Dr. Peter Leung,
Obstetrician, Gynecologist, Endoscopic Surgeon
and Fertility Specialist working in IVF Australia.
And here, we're talking about the differences
between the two treatments available for you
as these are very different treatment options
and obviously can suit different people.
So if you are struggling with fertility problems,
you're not alone.
In fact, one in every six couple in Australia
is actually having problems of infertility.
Now, more often than not the cause of infertility
can be shared between the couple of themselves, right?
It's not just confined to the ladies.
We noticed from our statistics
that about one third of the patients
have had some problems with the lady side.
One third of the problems
actually come from the male partner,
and we also get one third
that both of them has had some contribution.
So in today's visit, I'll be talking about
whether you should choose insemination
as a treatment option,
or whether you should choose IVF as a treatment option.
Which one we should do?
Most people would think that insemination treatment
is the more simpler form of treatment.
They are more gentle on your body and doesn't require
general anesthesia or surgical procedure.
So most couple would be happy
to consider insemination treatment as a stepping stone
before they go forward and try out more intensive treatments
such as IVF.
Obviously, in going through to the IVF treatment process,
we do bypass a lot of natural block in fertility.
And so in general, the success rate of IVF
is slightly better than insemination.
We also like to obviously discuss with the couple
exactly what the couple would need
based on their particular medical circumstances
as well as social circumstances.
So one treatment is not necessarily better than either one,
but, you know,
your fertility specialist will be the best person
in order to dissect all the differences
between the good points and bad points
of that particular treatment in your circumstances
so as to recommend a best option for you.
So, first of all, let's talk about the differences
between the two.
What is insemination treatment?
Now, artificial insemination or intrauterine insemination
is essentially the process
where we prepare a male partner's sperm
and insert it through the neck of the womb into the uterus,
usually around the time of ovulation
and making sure that the timing
is suitable for implantation to happen.
It can usually divide it into two ways.
You can either do it naturally
where we monitor the lady's natural ovulation timing
and then basically putting the sperm
in at the right time for fertilization to happen
or you can through the use of medication,
such as use of oral medication or injection medication
to bring along the ovulation
so that we can put in the sperm
at the appropriate timing and fashion.
On the other hand, if you're doing IVF treatment,
we are talking about much more sophisticated treatment
where we would usually need to give medications to the lady
to bring along a group of follicles to come through.
And thereafter, we need to do a minor surgery
to collect all the eggs out of the body.
At the same time, usually, the husband or the partner
need to give us a sperm sample
where the laboratory would then be able
to join the eggs and sperm together to create an embryo.
After five days of culture,
then then the laboratory
would be able to pick up the best embryo
and then insert it through the womb,
and hopefully an implantation will happen.
In that way,
we have bypassed a lot of natural barrier of infertility,
such as the blocked fallopian tubes
or the difficulty in the eggs finding the sperms.
So what is the differences between the two
and why do you want to use one over the other?
It really depending on the causes of the infertility
as well as your social circumstances.
For example, if you're talking about a couple
more having issues on male factor infertility,
cervical mucus problem, timing issues,
or sexual dysfunction,
then perhaps, you know,
an insemination treatment may be suitable for you guys.
This is obviously only available
if the semen quality is of sufficient quantity
as well as the anatomy will allow to sperm to open
to see the eggs,
so that means the fallopian tube has to be opened.
On the other hand,
if you have a very severe male factor infertility,
that means that there's only a few sperm available
or the sperm simply refuse to fertilize with the eggs.
Or alternatively, there was a significant anatomical problem
such as the fallopian tube is being blocked
or you get severe endometriosis,
then this may not be a suitable options for you.
In addition, for some of the couple
if they are considering using donor sperm
as a treatment option, then these can also be considered
depending on their social circumstances.
If you are using it for a single woman or same-sex couple,
then the insemination can still be considered
as one of the alternative.
However, if it is a significant problems
in terms of genetic problems that you want to identify
or you want to exclude severe endometriosis problem,
then perhaps IVF is a better options for you.
So overall, this really depending
on the couple's circumstances
or the individual's circumstances,
and I'm sure your fertility specialist
will be able to dissect the way to you
as well as talking about which is the most suitable options.
If you'd like to know more about fertility treatment options
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I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have.
So also feel free to leave any comments below
so that we will be able to be in touch with you.
Otherwise, enjoy the video and thank you for watching.