Infertility (cont.)

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is an infertility treatment that is often called artificial insemination. In this procedure, the woman is injected with specially prepared sperm. Sometimes the woman is also treated with medicines that stimulate ovulation before IUI.

IUI is often used to treat:

• Mild male factor infertility
  
  
• Women who have problems with their cervical mucus
  
  
• Couples with unexplained infertility

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a group of different methods used to help infertile couples. ART works by removing eggs from a woman's body. The eggs are then mixed with sperm to make embryos. The embryos are then put back in the woman's body.

Success rates vary and depend on many factors. Some things that affect the success rate of ART include:

• age of the partners
  
  
• reason for infertility
  
  
• clinic
  
  
• type of ART
  
  
• if the egg is fresh or frozen
  
  
• if the embryo is fresh or frozen

The U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention (CDC) collects success rates on ART for some fertility clinics. According to the 2006 CDC report on ART, the average percentage of ART cycles that led to a live birth were:

• 39% in women under the age of 35
  
  
• 30% in women aged 35-37
  
  
• 21% in women aged 37-40
  
  
• 11% in women aged 41-42

ART can be expensive and time-consuming. But it has allowed many couples to have children that otherwise would not have been conceived. The most common complication of ART is multiple fetuses. But this is a problem that can be prevented or minimized in several different ways.

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/infertility/article.htm