The Question I Get Asked Almost Every Day
Barely a week goes by at our clinic without a couple sitting across from me, asking some version of the same question: “Doctor, should we do IUI or go straight to IVF?”
I get it. You’ve been trying for a while. You’ve done your research. You’ve read things online that contradict each other. And now you’re sitting in a fertility clinic in Kandivali wondering if you should just skip the simpler stuff and go straight for the “big gun.”
Let me tell you what I actually tell my patients — not the textbook version, but the real conversation.
What IUI Actually Is (In Plain Terms)
IUI — Intra-Uterine Insemination — is honestly simpler than most people expect. We take your husband’s sperm sample, wash it in the lab to concentrate the best swimmers, and place them directly into the uterus right when you’re ovulating. The whole procedure takes about 15 minutes. No anaesthesia, no hospitalisation, no dramatic recovery.
Think of it this way: instead of sperm having to swim all the way from the cervix to meet the egg, we drop them off halfway. It’s not magic — it just improves the odds.
IUI tends to work well when:
- Everything looks mostly normal but pregnancy isn’t happening — what we call unexplained infertility
- Sperm count or motility is slightly below normal (not severely low)
- There are issues with cervical mucus blocking sperm
- You’re doing ovulation induction for PCOS and want to time things precisely
Success rate per cycle: around 10–20%. Not huge — but remember, natural conception in a healthy couple is only about 20–25% per cycle too.
What IVF Is (And Why It’s Not as Scary as It Sounds)
IVF is more involved, I won’t pretend otherwise. We stimulate your ovaries with injections for about 10–12 days to grow multiple eggs. Then we retrieve those eggs, fertilise them with sperm in our lab, watch the embryos develop for 3–5 days, and transfer the best one back into your uterus.
It’s more monitoring, more clinic visits, more emotional investment. But the success rate is also significantly higher — 40–55% per cycle for women under 35 at a good clinic.
IVF is the right choice when:
- Your fallopian tubes are blocked — IUI simply can’t work in this case
- Sperm count is severely low (ICSI within IVF handles this)
- You’ve done 3–4 IUI cycles without success
- You’re over 38 and time is genuinely a factor
- There’s endometriosis affecting the tubes or ovaries
My Honest Recommendation
If you’re under 35, tubes are open, sperm is borderline-okay, and there’s no structural issue — start with IUI. It costs a fraction of IVF, it’s much easier on your body, and plenty of couples conceive on the first or second cycle.
If you’re over 37, have blocked tubes, or have already “tried naturally” for 2+ years — I’d skip straight to IVF. Time matters, and doing 3 rounds of IUI when the odds are stacked against it isn’t kind to you financially or emotionally.
Every couple is different. The answer for your neighbour is not necessarily your answer.
Come In and Let’s Figure It Out Together
At Punit Fertility in Kandivali, we don’t push you toward the more expensive option. We look at your specific situation — your age, your tests, your history — and give you an honest recommendation.