IUI advice needed... Stress free infertility

If only I had someone to tell me these things... This is from a post from the Stress Free Infertility blog... Of course my comment was the longest. I just wish someone would have told me before our IUI.

~Both of you take the whole day off together… if you can…for us it turned into a relaxing day, almost like a staycation for a day. We slept in, then I delivered the goods and when I came back I crawled back in bed with him and snuggled. This kept my nerves calm and helped me to relax. You are already a bundle of nerves kinda like your wedding day. I loved having him drive me into the clinic for the procedure and sit with me in the waiting area plus hold my hand during the insem. I didn’t expect the tears during the procedure, because it felt nothing more than a pap, but the MD said it was all the hormones they had pumped into me and the emotional stress of it all. I can’t imagine being there alone. I don’t think it is something you would want your mom to hold your hand for, it’s a little to intimate for that.


~For us collecting the “goods” at home was key. Friends of ours collected at the clinic and he froze and had 7 min to perform. They were told that the stress could effect the quality and # of sperm, which it did. When I spoke with my RE about it she said that she once had a couple that left their specimen on the counter at home and drove an hour to the clinic only to find that they forgot it… 4 hours later the specimen was fine and they have a little one to show for it. Shrug… do what is best for you. My RE says that they tell you an hour, just to make sure you get it there and if your late it’s not that big of a deal.

~I took the specimen in myself… so what does a girl take the specimen in? Certainly not just the clear container! I had never put thought to the matter until the morning I had to deliver the package. Solution: Grab a small gift bag from your stash so you conceal it but feel as if you are carrying something very important… which you are!

~ Most importantly RELAX and take care of your body… I am convinced this helped our first IUI to be successful. I have other friends that totally freaked out the week before and didn’t eat and take care of themselves (the female). So when the big day came, they were frazzled and basically exhausted mentally and physically that they couldn’t relax. They now have 2 IUIs down and have decided it was too much to try for the 3rd… which per my RE the 2nd and 3rd are peek for IUIs.

~Acupuncture helped me mentally and physically prepare for the insemination. Use what ever methods to get a grip on the hormones being pumped into you. If you like hot baths or massages, try to do these together to get your body chemistry working in sync. Sounds crazy, I know, but a fertility massage just might be what you need. Some massage therapist specialize in this area and they teach the 2 of you the different techniques.

Hope this helps

Jenny H