Introduction Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a technique that involves the transfer of sperms into the uterus to achieve pregnancy. It is one of the oldest techniques in reproductive medicine, with its history dating back to the 18th century. Over the last few decades, IUI has evolved through several innovations and gained popularity among couples visiting infertility clinics.1-3 It is the front-line technique for several cases of male factor infertility, mild or minimal endometriosis, and unexplained infertility. The spectrum of indications of IUI can further be extended to embrace infertility due to cervical and immunologic causes, ovulatory dysfunction, and various ejaculatory and coital problems (box 1).4,5 Considerable clinical experience with IUI suggests that it is a simple, non-invasive, and cost-effective technique with a fairly good patient acceptance.1,2 However, its overall clinical success has remained debatable with published pregnancy rates ranging from as low as 5% to as high as 70%. Some researchers…
Introduction In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a popular method for treatment of infertility owing to both male and female factors. Historically, this method was developed in order to treat infertility in women arising due to blocked fallopian tubes that impeded the fertilization of the ovum by the sperm. However, over the years this technique has become very efficient in treating infertility owing to other causes as well, including unexplained infertility.1 However, despite phenomenal improvements in IVF methods over the past 3-4 decades, the efficiency of IVF procedures, as defined by live birth rate, is still only about 30-40%. Other problems associated with this technique include need for repeated cycles before pregnancy can be achieved, which increases emotional and financial costs, as well as constitutes additional health risks for women.2 The efficiency of IVF can be increased by transferring multiple embryos in a single cycle, but this may give rise to…
