For couples struggling to conceive naturally with fertility issues, intrauterine insemination is an excellent treatment. This is a non-invasive and cost-effective option, however, success in every cycle can’t be guaranteed by anyone.
Understanding the symptoms of IUI failure, the reasons behind unsuccessful attempts, and the next steps can help couples navigate their fertility journey more effectively.
This guide covers everything you need to know about IUI failure and what to do next, so keep exploring the following sections to overcome your fears and anxiety during the procedure.
Intrauterine Insemination IUI - An Overview
IUI, hope you all know about this type of ART. it is one of the most successful artificial insemination treatments after in vitro fertilization. Women under 30 or 35 with unexplained infertility issues or struggling to conceive are some of the highly preferable candidates for the IUI procedure.
In this treatment, doctors insert healthy sperm into the uterus of the woman, promoting successful fertilization. This is quite similar to the natural process, but choosing IUI can give benefits such as inserting concentrated and good-quality sperm.
However, there is a chance for both success and failure in intrauterine insemination. Yes, so couples undergoing this treatment should be practical and aware of the failure symptoms to consult the doctor immediately.
Top 7 symptoms of IUI failure
1. Menstrual period
The menstrual period can indicate both the success and failure of pregnancy. About two weeks after IUI treatment, you can expect to take a pregnancy test for accurate results. And, instead of light spotting, you experience heavy bleeding, which typically means that the current IUI cycle is a failure.
2. Negative pregnancy test results
Another important indicator of IUI failure is a negative pregnancy test result. After undergoing IUI treatment, women need to wait patiently for two weeks and then can take pregnancy tests at home. When the result is negative, then you can consider your IUI is failure. Along with a home pregnancy test, you need to confirm it with your fertility doctor as this test can be even more accurate.
3. Absence of implantation bleeding
Post the two-week wait time, women can witness light bleeding and blood spots on their underwear, which shows that their implantation is successful. This may or may not happen, so confirming with your healthcare provider is very important.
4. Lower back pain
Lower back pain is one of the most common symptoms of menstrual cramps, that’s why it is considered a sign of failure of intrauterine insemination.
5. Lack of early pregnancy symptoms
If the implantation is successful post-intrauterine insemination, then your body can experience early pregnancy signs. It includes sore breasts, mood swings, frequent urination, increased fatigue, and dizziness. A lack of these indications may significantly say an IUI failure.
6. No changes in the cervical mucus
As soon as the implantation takes place, you could experience changes in the cervical mucus; colour, consistency, and volume of the mucus changes during pregnancy. Waiting for two long weeks after the intrauterine insemination, still you couldn’t witness any cervical changes, which might indicate IUI failure.
7. No modifications in the Basal Body Temperature (BBT)
An increase of the Basal Body Temperature is also a sign of successful pregnancy and lack of this symptom may indicate that implantation is not successful.
What to do after IUI failure?
Don’t confirm anything by yourself, because some studies found that even without proper pregnancy and implantation signs, many women become pregnant and successfully deliver the babies.
Okay, but if this is not your case, you must think about what could be the best choice to do after the failure of the IUI cycle. Trying another IUI immediately after failure will work? No, you’ll not get optimal pregnancy results because women should wait for a certain period before undergoing the next cycle.
Consulting your fertility expert is literally one of the best ways to identify the right way after an IUI failure. Here is a glimpse of how their valuable advice can help.
How does your fertility specialist help after a failed IUI?
Your healthcare provider can help you by evaluating your body condition once again performing required tests, and providing treatment according to the body condition. While undergoing a second, third, or fourth IUI cycle, fertility specialist will be even more concerned about the factors influencing the results. They are timings of the insertion, sperm quality and concentration, ovulation window, and others to increase success rate.
Summary
Is your first IUI cycle becomes unsuccessful? Take a step back and assess the possible reasons with your fertility specialist. Whether it’s trying another IUI, making lifestyle changes, or considering IVF, discuss with your healthcare provider to identify the right way that help you getting optimal pregnancy results.
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Plenty of factors can be the reason for Intrauterine insemination failure, it includes a woman’s age, poor sperm and egg quality, ovarian response to the medications, insemination timing, and overall health and reproductive health conditions. These play a significant role in the overall results of the IUI.
Intrauterine insemination treatment can lead to multiple births, infections, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, emotional stress, shortness of breath, cramps, and spotting. However, every woman undergoing IUI doesn’t need to expect these side effects as they may or may not occur, because of risks of IUI are comparatively lower than other ARTs.
The success rate of IUI is not fixed, because it could change according to the factors influencing the intrauterine insemination treatment, particularly age. Women who are younger and in their early 30s can expect 20 to 25% success; for 30 to 35 years, it is 15 to 20% success; for the age of 35 to 40, it is 10% and when it is early 40s, the success rate is approximately 5%.
According to the statistical data, IUI pregnancies are almost 80% and 95% successful in the third and fourth IUI cycles. So, women and couples witnessing failure in their first IUI cycle don’t be worried so much as the cycle increases, the success rate too.
In this condition also, a woman’s age plays an important role. Ladies under 35 can go up to 3 IUI cycles before considering other ARTs. However, six IUI cycles are the last number to undergo this particular treatment.
