These encompass all non-intercourse means of conception and ova fertilization, all supported by modern scientific methods. The people who use these methods are mainly: infertile couples, lesbians, single women or HIV positive couples or STI infected (in this case, sperm and ova treatment is done). Although the methods maybe expensive, they pose a better option for parentage to willing individuals.
These individuals may have biological problems like genital tract obstructions and abnormalities, endometriosis, thick or non-supportive (in terms of level of acidity- pH levels) genital mucus -for women, low sperm count, ejaculation problems and weak sperm (swimming energy that propagates the sperms to the fallopian tubes for fertilization) – for men and HIV infected partners or STI infected for both men and women. There are six methods of artificial insemination: intravaginal, intracervical, intrauterine, intrafallopian, intraperitoneal and in vitro fertilization. The method to use depends on the doctor’s recommendation upon check up, where factors like sperm quality, sperm count, ovum quality, fertility patterns, STI and HIV test, internal physiological examination of the female genital tract are checked and analyzed.
Intravaginal insemination (IVI) is administered in situations where the woman is fertile (normal ovulation) and, if he is available, the man cannot ejaculate into the vagina during intercourse. In this case, the man is made to masturbate and his sperm stored in a sterile container, washed for removal of impurities if any then injected into the woman’s vagina. The process involves keeping note of the woman’s optimum fertility level using an ovulation detector, which checks for urine luteinizing hormone levels to tell when the woman is most fertile (usually during the hormone surge) and only during this high level, within a period of 24hrs, is the entire IVI procedure carried out. Success rate is 5-10 percent with each treatment cycle.
Intracervical insemination (ICI) is administered in situations where the female does not ovulate on a regular basis and therefore has to use fertility drugs like clomid to enhance ovulation. The sperm from the male is obtained and treated in the same way as in the previous method then put inside a catheter and introduced into the cervix then placing a cap into the vagina to keep the sperm near the cervix till it reaches the uterus. The cap is taken out after about six hours. The success rate is 5-10 percent with each treatment.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is most common because of a higher success rate of 26 percent with each treatment. The sperm is injected near the fallopian tubes within the uterus and ovarian stimulation is administered. Although this method is best, fertilization drugs are used and complications like multiple pregnancy and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome can occur.
Intrafallopian insemination (IFI) and Intraperitoneal insemination (IPI) are uncommon methods. Like the other methods, sperm preparation is done but their difference being, in IFI, sperms are placed in the fallopian tubes while in IPI, the sperms are placed close to the entrance of the fallopian tubes at the peritoneal cavity.
The final method is the In-vitro fertilization (IVF). This method is done in situations where fertilization cannot take place within the womb of the female. This may be due to either internal complications of the genital tract, disease or high mucus pH levels. In this method, the fertile ovum is induced out of the woman’s body and placed in a sterile dish in the optimum conditions for fertilization. The man’s pre-prepared sperms are then introduced to the same dish allowing for fertilization to take place. The fertilized egg is transferred into the woman’s uterus which then attaches itself to her uterine walls completing the process. The woman’s fertility has to be drug induced to prevent her body from producing hormones that would cause her to menstruate, leading to expulsion of the fertilized egg from her womb. In cases where the woman is unstable, she may be recommended to seek a surrogate mother to help.
All these methods have their advantages and limitations, for example, the ICI can be done from home, by the purchase of the required items from a chemist shop. The major limitations to the methods of non-natural fertilization are such as: age of the women – this affects the threshold to maintain a healthy pregnancy or production of the optimal levels of hormones that support pregnancy maintenance, poor egg quality – meaning that even after fertilization takes place, it is not guaranteed that the egg will produce a viable baby or the egg may have a short life span, poor sperm quality – same as with the egg quality, may lead to unviable babies, severe endometriosis, damaged fallopian tubes – meaning that fertilization has to take place elsewhere, highly expensive for some individuals to afford, nevertheless, the methods give hope to couples and singles who have been failed by natural means to become parents.