IUI or IVF? Confused? Certainly, you will be. But, not anymore. The very first thing people must do while exploring infertility treatment in India is understanding the difference between IUI and IVF. These two are known for their efficient and effective treatments to treat the issue of infertility. But how would you know which treatment is right for you?

While it is always suggested consulting the infertility specialist before making any decisions related to the infertility treatment, this writeup will be serving you as the finest learning for those couples who are trying to get pregnant with the help of assisted reproductive technology.

Fast Facts of IVF and IUI

The main IUI and IVF difference is the quantity of eggs women produce and the fertilization placement. Here are some fast facts related to both the treatments:

•  IUI can be used for taking multiple tries for achieving conception.
• Studies suggest that acupuncture is useful in enhancing the success of IVF. Isn’t it interesting? Sure, it is.
• IUI cost is bearable for every couple fighting the problem of infertility.
• In IVF, not all the harvested eggs are considered equal.
• Timing is very important in IUI and only requires 20 minutes for the process to be completed.
• Women having a healthy sleep cycle experience successful IVF completion.

How do these two methods assist to beat infertility?

IUI- Intrauterine insemination

IUI or intra-uterine is useful to beat infertility in two main ways that are:

• First way is egg quality and ovulation . Doctors in this treatment give medication so that around two eggs are developed and matured efficiently.
• Enhancing the sperm quality is another way as it involves IUI putting sperm nearer to the target i.e. egg. It benefits in augmenting the sperm number making the fallopian tube thousand times faster.

IVF- In-vitro fertilization

Here are the ways in which IVF benefits in beating infertility:

•  Retrieval of eggs before ovulation.
• Tubal problems are resolved by removing the eggs from embryos and ovaries but putting them back into the uterus entirely through bypassing the tubes.
• ICSI involved- a technique that helps in directly injecting sperm into the egg. It is crucial to understand that there is the requirement of one healthy sperm.
• There are several medications for optimizing the uterine receptivity and the timing to transfer the embryo.
•  It involves reproductive immunology and genetic testing for reducing the miscarriage probability.
• The massive medication dosage assists in maturing a huge eggs number, maturing them and making them high-quality.

IUI and IVF types

IUI types

Different types of insemination are there depending on the deposited semen location and on the bases of IUI cycles including used medications for the treatment.

Here are the types of IUI treatment:

•  IVI/ICI is the treatment known as intra vaginal/cervical insemination that can be initiated in a clinical office or insemination at home. With this treatment, there is the initiation of depositing sperms with the syringe help at the vagina top near to cervix. It is a kind of artificial insemination, not intrauterine one.
•  IUI or intra-uterine semination is initiated only in the clinical setting such as fertility clinic or OB/GYN office. In this method, there is the washing of sperms, concentrated, and then loaded into the catheter to initiate the process through the cervix and depositing near the uterus top.

IUI types based on medications

• Natural cycle is one type of IUI and there is no requirement of medication for a natural cycle.
• Trigger cycle is another IUI type that involves the use of medication for triggering the ovulation for a particular period. Insemination takes place around 12-36 hours after the medication is triggered whether it is taken orally or injected.
• Oral medication cycle involves the use of Clomid or letrozole for enhancing the growth of egg and ovulation. It also helps in lessening the probability of multiples with oral medicine when compared to injections.
•  Injectable medication cycle involves the ovaries stimulation through the gonadotropin medication. This is one reason there is the probability of multiples with injectables.

IVF types

There is a difference in IUI and IVF which is important to comprehend for better understanding of both the treatments. IVF is known to be an umbrella term for illustrating the process where fertilization takes place outside the body. There are differences depending on the mediations, embryo processing, fertilization and where the process occurs. Here are the types of IVF:

• Conventional IVF is a fertilization technique in IVF that involves loading sperms into a microneedle and injecting it directly into the egg.
• Mini IVF or mediation protocol is an IVF that involves using the medication intended to include few but eggs filled with quality.
• Natural IVF cycle involves the use of no medicine to develop additional eggs. It has the efficiency of retrieving one or two eggs in rare situations.
• FET or frozen embryo transfer is a IVF that comprises transferring of the earlier thawed and frozen embryo from IVF cycle.

IUI and IVF treatment process

There is a difference between IUI and IVF treatment that needs to be comprehended by a couple before choosing any of these two. Let’s find out the difference.

IUI process

The treatment of IUI involves the process of directly giving sperm injection into the uterus top of a female. It enhances the conception by eliminating the sperm distance and traveling to mix with the egg. There are various steps associated with the IUI and they are as:

• First step is IUI preparation which comprises making changes to their diet, adding supplements and medications. It also includes using holistic therapies such as massage and acupuncture for ensuring the finest result from the treatment. All this helps massively in enhancing the eggs quality and offers a positive outcome.
• The next step is egg development and it involves the female natural egg growth through stimulation which is initiated through medications and lasts for around 5-14 days.
• Insemination is the next step and is followed by washing of the sperm and injecting concentrated sperm into the uterus top with the help of a catheter. Once it is done, the insemination takes place within no time. It is okay to experience some mild cramping after the procedure.
• Lastly, a blood pregnancy test will be initiated if the IUI treatment is successful. After the heartbeat is detected through ultrasound, it is believed that the pregnancy will result in a live birth around 90-95%.

IVF process

Here is the IVF process followed for a successful treatment:

• Like IUI, in IVF the process begins with the treatment preparation. It is recommended to make changes in diet, improving immune system, holistic therapies, supplements, medications and making changes in your lifestyle. It helps with the finest possible results from IVF.
• Second step is ovarian stimulation which is initiated for increasing both egg quality and quantity. It often starts around 2-4 days of your cycle and lasts for ten days. Doctors ensure monitoring closely for tracking the uterine lining, follicular growth, and levels of hormones.
• The third step is followed by the egg retrieval and sperm collection. Egg retrieval is initiated after 35-48 hours of trigger shot and is initiated under anesthesia. Once the eggs are collected successfully, the next step is collecting the sperms the same day. They are washed and placed in a solution to the fallopian tubes so that further it is used for fertilization.
• Fertilization is the further process which is executed in the latest and advanced technological lab. The sperm and egg are mixed together to form an embryo which may take around 3-5 days.
• After the mixing of sperm and egg, once the embryo is formed it is ensured that the embryo is transferred into the women’s uterus through a catheter.
• Lastly, the process is completed by following a blood test to ensure that the successful pregnancy is created. The test will be conducted within the period of 10-14 days.

IUI and IVF cost

The IUI cost depends on a variety of factors as it can lead to influencing the cost such as number of cycles required. On an average, the IUI may cost you around INR 12,000- 17,000.

The cost of IVF may seem difficult to afford as it is among the expensive treatments but with technology this drawback is mitigated efficiently. The complete IVF treatment will cost you around INR 1,20,000-1,80,000. There are factors which may affect the cost and hence it is important to get in touch with the renowned infertility specialist.

Success rate of IUI and IVF

The IUI success rate is only for some couples and mainly doesn’t work if the couple already experienced a few IUI cycles. There are various variables associated like infertility reasons, medications used, and age. Overall, the probability of success with IUI treatment is identified to be around 15-20% which is certainly lower than IVF.

However, the IVF success odds depend massively on certain things such as sperm and egg quality, infertility cause, age, etc. An ideal candidate has the chance of experiencing around 50-60% success through this treatment.

Final thoughts

If you are unable to decide which infertility treatment is right for you, then you must get in touch with the renowned and experienced infertility specialists like at Crysta IVF. Certainly, at some point, you might be aware which is the right treatment but doctors can offer you their expert suggestions depending on your health, age and infertility reasons.

Pooja Hegde