Helping your ovaries produce eggs

Ovulation induction is prescribed for women who have irregular menstrual periods and don’t ovulate. Some patients with these problems have polycystic ovarian syndrome and/or pituitary disorders. Ovulation induction can stimulate the ovaries to release more than one egg, thereby increasing the chances of achieving a pregnancy. To stimulate your ovaries we may prescribe a combination of oral and injectable medication, most often Letrazole or clomiphene citrate, plus a follicle stimulator such as FSH or hMG.

At the beginning of your menstrual cycle, medications are administered, first to stimulate the production of eggs and later to cause the final maturation of the egg and egg release. We perform transvaginal ultrasounds to assess the growth and maturity of follicles. As soon as the follicles have reached maturity and you are ready to trigger ovulation, we will administer the hormone hCG to stimulate final maturation and release of the eggs.

With ovulation induction, we may recommend timed intercourse. The more complex the treatment, the more likely pregnancy will occur. Natural intercourse succeeds less than intrauterine insemination (IUI), which succeeds less than IVF. IVF may also be used in conjunction with ICSI (a procedure where a sperm is injected into an egg to assist with fertilization), particularly in cases involving male factor infertility.