The conditions to carry out an Artificial Insemination in Natural Cycle are:

• Have a normal ovarian reserve.
• Have normal ovulatory cycles.
• Having the tubes open (permeable).

In this type of treatment, we begin to perform a urine ovulation test from day 10 of the cycle (bearing in mind that in a 28-day cycle, the woman usually ovulates around day 14). Once the test detects ovulation, we proceed to prepare the insemination, which must be done the next day.
The main differences of the natural cycle reside in the fact that there is no need for medication, which is why it is somewhat cheaper, and that, when natural ovulation is achieved, the risk of twin pregnancy is the same as in a spontaneous pregnancy (around 1 %), since ovulation is not induced.
The chances of success with this technique depend on the age of the woman. In women under 38 years of age, it is around 10-15% per attempt, a not very high percentage (this is the main disadvantage of this technique). Over 38 years of age, insemination in the natural cycle is not recommended, due to poor results.
If this technique failed in 3 or 4 cycles, then artificial insemination with ovulation induction would be considered.

In the case of Artificial Insemination in the induced or stimulated cycle, ovulation induction is carried out before insemination. The treatment begins with a vaginal ultrasound on the second or third day of the cycle, to verify that the ovaries are at rest and the ovarian stimulation process can begin. At that point, the ovulation induction process begins. To do this, the woman injects herself with a hormone (FSH, follicle-stimulating hormone) according to the regimen prescribed by the specialist. The objective of this stimulation is to have 2 or at most 3 follicles. The process is controlled by ultrasound, until it is detected that there are 1 to 3 follicles of an adequate size, that is, larger than 17 or 18 mm. At that time, the maturation of the eggs inside the follicles is induced by another injection of hCG. The insemination is scheduled within 36 hours after the injection of this last hormone. Ultrasound control of ovulation induction is essential to avoid the risk of multiple pregnancy. Sometimes the ovarian response is greater than expected, and then it is necessary to cancel the cycle. In an ovulation induction cycle for artificial insemination, two or three ultrasound scans are usually necessary. The main advantage of ovulation induction is that pregnancy rates are higher (about 20-25% per attempt). But they have the drawback of increasing the risk of twin pregnancy (up to 20% of all pregnancies). In addition, it supposes an added cost to the treatment. In women over 38 years of age we should consider starting ovulation induction, to increase the chances of success. In women under this age, it is possible to start treatment in the natural cycle.

In Artificial Insemination treatments, the sperm can come from the couple themselves or from a donor. The selection of the sperm donor is made based on the physical profile that the couple provides (height, weight, eye color, hair color and texture, skin color, blood group and Rh). In the case of women without a male partner, the selection of the donor depends on the guidelines established by the patient. All our donors have been studied and selected in accordance with the legal requirements in Spain, established in the Assisted Reproduction Law of 2006 approved by Royal Decree 1301/2006. Once a donor meets all these characteristics, the sperm sample is frozen and preserved in our sample bank, ready to be used in an insemination treatment with donor sperm.

After going through a certain number of cycles of artificial insemination, many women will have succeeded in becoming pregnant. However, not in all cases the treatment will end successfully. This may be due to the existence of some pathology (such as endometriosis, for example) that, although sometimes detectable, is very difficult to diagnose in others. The end of unsuccessful Artificial Insemination treatment should not mean giving up on getting pregnant. There are other treatments that can achieve the goal. In this case, the next step after Artificial Insemination is In Vitro Fertilization.