Ms. Lin was 32 years old and had been infertile for one year. After completing the fertility-related tests, no obvious problems were found, so I suggested that she should first try “artificial insemination” to help her conceive. With great expectation, Ms. Lin asked, “Doctor, what is the success rate of artificial insemination?” “About 15% with the husband’s sperm.” “Well…” As you can imagine, most people who hear this pregnancy rate think it is too low. If there is only a 15% chance of making money doing a program, then most people definitely don’t do it, so why would my doctor suggest IUI? I. What is artificial insemination? First of all, let’s talk about what artificial insemination is. Artificial insemination refers to the use of an injection tube to deliver optimized sperm into the female uterine cavity around the expected ovulation date. Optimization means taking out the good ones, selecting millions of swimmers among hundreds of millions of husband’s tadpoles; delivery means going straight to the destination, which is equivalent to providing a special car service for the sperm to avoid quality sperm getting lost or blocked at the cervical gate. Combined with the doctor’s monitoring of ovulation, IUI delivers quality sperm to the right place at the right time, so it can increase the conception rate. Secondly, what kind of couples are recommended to have IUI? For men: with mild or moderate oligospermia, weak sperm, teratozoospermia; semen that is not liquefied or poorly liquefied; ejaculation difficulties or autoimmune antibodies. For women: with cervicitis, thick cervical mucus, cervical fibroids and cervical had undergone conization and electrolysis; with anti-sperm antibodies interfering with the operation of sperm in the reproductive tract and fertilization; and difficulties in intercourse due to various reasons, all need artificial insemination. However, most patients may be the same as Ms. Lin, semen is a little poor, after taking medication to meet the standard; fallopian tube is a little blocked, have done imaging to see the film, the situation is not serious; older, but the ovarian function is still possible, there is also normal ovulation; but can not conceive. For such couples with reduced fertility, doctors also recommend them to do artificial insemination. Why? (1) There is a difference between qualified sperm and high quality sperm, and it is not easy to conceive during ovulation when perhaps the semen is of low quality. (2) Some women have excessive and sticky leukorrhea or small cervical canal, which affects sperm entering the uterine cavity. (3) Too much tension during the preparation period, resulting in low male ejaculation and abnormal peristalsis of the female uterus, resulting in less effective sperm entering the uterine cavity. So artificial insemination is also recommended for couples with reduced fertility. Third, what is the success rate of artificial insemination? Again, the success rate of artificial insemination by husband is about 15% by cycle. Compared with the 100% psychological expectation of infertile couples and the 50-60% pregnancy rate of IVF, IUI is indeed low; however, it is still much higher than the 0% pregnancy rate of infertile couples who have been trying to conceive for 1 year, month after month. As human embryos have a self-elimination process, so even couples with normal fertility can’t do a hit with intercourse or human insemination. What is the best time for IUI? Finally, the best time to do IUI. Infertile patients usually undergo tubal imaging, and hysteroscopy or hysterolaparoscopy will be performed when hysteropathy or pelvic pathology is suspected. The best time to conceive is 3 months after the procedure because the patency of the fallopian tubes is improved and the endometrium is more tolerant to stimulation, which increases the fertility. If you perform IUI at this time, you will get twice the result with half the effort. Some patients, due to traditional beliefs or time constraints, always struggle with the idea of “natural” pregnancy rather than “artificial” insemination. Many patients are torn and hesitant and miss the best time to do artificial insemination and end up having to choose IVF which is more time consuming and requires more manual techniques. In ignorance and wasted time, many women miss the optimal age of conception, 25-28 years old. When pregnancy has become a difficult task, please do not miss out on the simple and helpful technique of IUI.