What fertility treatments are available?

Most people have heard of IVF (in vitro fertilisation). But there are several treatment options for people who are having difficulty conceiving naturally. Every case is different, and your GP and fertility clinic will be able to advise on the most suitable treatment for you, depending on your individual circumstances.

Fertility drugs

In most cases, it is the woman who will take any fertility drugs. These might be ‘ovulation induction’ drugs, which trigger egg production in your body if you are not producing and releasing an egg each month. Sometimes, taking fertility drugs is all it takes to get pregnant. More often, they are used as part of another treatment, such as IVF or IUI (see below).

Surgery

Some cases of infertility can be helped with surgery. Fallopian tubes can be unblocked using keyhole surgery (blocking can happen as a result of inflammation and scarring from infections such as chlamydia, for example). For men who cannot produce sperm (if they have had a vasectomy, or a failed vasectomy reversal), sperm can be retried surgically for use in fertility treatment.

IUI (Intrauterine insemination)

This is a treatment in which sperm is inserted into the womb at the woman’s most fertile time (ovulation). The sperm will have been sorted before treatment to make sure that only the healthiest are used. The whole process takes just a few minutes. It is particularly suitable if the male partner has a low sperm count or if the sperm is not surviving the journey to the womb. It is also used when a woman does not have any known fertility problems but may not have a male partner and is trying for a baby using donated sperm.

GIFT (gamete intra-fallopian transfer)

GIFT was one of the earliest fertility treatments to be developed and is still used to great effect today. Eggs and sperm are collected as for IVF (see below), and screened to find the healthiest ones. The sperm and eggs are mixed together and then placed in one of the woman’s fallopian tubes. Fertilisation takes place in the body, as it would have had you conceived naturally.

IVF (in vitro fertilisation)

The most well-known fertility treatment. This is where a woman’s eggs are collected and fertilised with her partner’s sperm (or donated sperm) in a laboratory. The fertilised read more