IUI is an inexpensive treatment compared to IVF. With Clinical Pregnancy Rates Per Intrauterine Insemination Cycle, this article provides an overview of the number of sperm and motility required for intrauterine insemination (IUI).
IUI involves preparing the male’s sperm. This process is sometimes called a “sperm wash,” but it does not involve washing the sperm. This process separates the sperm from the ejaculated fluid, concentrating the sperm into a small volume. The doctor refers to this process as “semen preparation.”
According to the study
Before and after sperm preparation, fertility doctors calculate the number of moving sperm. An IUI can’t be predicted with sperm movements before the preparation of sperm, unless the numbers are horrendous. After sperm preparation, most studies have focused on the number of moving sperm. This is called the total motile sperm count (TMSC) by doctors.
A large study conducted at a single fertility center in the USA recently examined the issues and came to the same conclusion. Over 37,500 patients participated in this study, which examined over 9200 insemination cycles.
Modern infertility practices are typical of the patients studied. Approximately half of the IUIs were performed on patients under the age of 35, while the other half were performed on patients over the age of 35. As women age, their chances of conceiving through IUI decrease.
Additionally, these patients take fertility medications. The pregnancy rate of women who used follistim injections was significantly higher than that of women who took clomid oral medication. Compared to women who used Clomid alone, women who combined it with injections performed no better. If you are doing your third IUI or your first IUI, you have the same chance of getting pregnant.
What is the sperm count after semen preparation?
The study found the optimal number of moving sperm to be 9 million or higher. Couples who had sperm numbers in this range had higher pregnancy rates. Just over 16% of couples become pregnant with each attempt within that range. Their analysis determined that women with a higher number of moving sperm (18 million) didn’t have any more pregnancies.
The conception rate is likely to decrease if the motile sperm count is less than 9 million. The lower the number of motile sperm, the lower the chances of conception.
“Clinical Pregnancy Rates Per Intrauterine Insemination Cycle According to Post Wash Tmsc”
Total Motile Sperm Count (millions) | Number of Insemination Cycles | Number of Clinical Pregnancies | Clinical Pregnancy per Cycle |
<0.25 | 123 | 3 | 2.4% |
0.25-0.49 | 180 | 5 | 2.8% |
0.50-0.99 | 355 | 17 | 4.8% |
1.00-1.99 | 904 | 62 | 6.9% |
2.00-3.99 | 2463 | 249 | 10.1% |
4.00-4.99 | 1465 | 166 | 11.3% |
5.00-5.99 | 1499 | 186 | 12.4% |
6.00-6.99 | 1676 | 230 | 13.7% |
7.00-8.99 | 3257 | 479 | 14.7% |
9.00-9.99 | 1621 | 279 | 16.9% |
> 10.00 | 34021 | 5649 | 16.6% |
Note: The information in the above table has been taken from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine for educational purposes only.
Conclusion
Your best chance of IUI success is when the total motile sperm count is determined after semen preparation. The best chance with IUI is when there are 9 million or more sperm. IUI will work better if the women are younger and if they use injectable fertility medication rather than Clomid.
Couples with very low numbers of moving sperm can still achieve pregnancy, so trying is not futile, but the lower the number, the lower the chance.
FAQs
According to research, the volume of post-wash inseminated sperm should be between 0.3 and 0.5 mL. TPMSC can be used as a threshold value for IUI success if one has an average post-wash total motile sperm count of 10×106, but more research is needed to develop a specific cut-off value.
The average man releases about 100 million sperm at every ejaculation.