Self-insemination at home
This is the one page on this site that tells you how not to need us. Self-insemination means placing semen near the cervix yourself, during your fertile days, using a sterile syringe. It costs almost nothing. If nothing is known to be wrong with either of you, it is worth doing before you pay anybody for treatment.
Is this you?
Home insemination is a reasonable thing to try if:
- You are under 35 and have been trying for less than a year.
- Intercourse is difficult, painful or not happening reliably — this is commoner than anyone admits, and it is a real cause of infertility.
- He travels, and is not there during the fertile days.
- You want to try the cheapest thing that could work before spending money on a clinic.
Do not start here if
In these situations home insemination mostly costs you time, and time is the one thing you cannot buy back:
- You are over 35. Give it three cycles, not six, then get tested.
- Neither of you has ever been tested. A semen analysis costs very little and answers a great deal.
- Your cycles are irregular, or you have PCOS, endometriosis or a history of pelvic infection.
- His count or motility is already known to be low.
- You are thinking of using donor sperm. Sperm from outside a clinic is not screened for HIV, hepatitis or syphilis, and the donor may be the legal parent unless the paperwork is done properly.
How to do it
During your fertile window — the five days up to and including ovulation — aim for two or three attempts in the cycle.
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Time it
Work out your fertile window first. Ovulation prediction strips are the simplest way, and our ovulation calculator will give you the dates to test around.
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Collect the sample
Into a clean, sterile container. Wash hands. Do not use a condom — most contain spermicide.
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Draw it up
A sterile syringe without a needle, or a pipette. Let it liquefy for a few minutes first.
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Place it near the cervix
Lying down. The target is near the cervix, not inside it. Deposit slowly.
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Lie still afterwards
Ten to fifteen minutes with your hips slightly raised is enough. Some leakage afterwards is normal and does not mean it failed.
Do not use ordinary lubricant. Most commercial lubricants cut sperm movement by roughly half. Use liquid paraffin, a lubricant sold as sperm-friendly, or nothing.
When to stop
This is the part that matters more than the technique.
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Six cycles, or three if you are over 35
If careful, well-timed attempts have not worked in that time, stop and get tested. Continuing is not persistence, it is delay.
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Getting tested is not committing to IVF
A semen analysis, a day-3 hormone panel and a scan will often explain the problem, and the answer is frequently something simpler and cheaper than IVF.
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You do not have to pay us to ask
Send us what you have. The second opinion is free, one of us reads it, and if the answer is keep trying at home, that is what we will tell you.
What it costs
Almost nothing. A sterile syringe and a container. Ovulation prediction strips if you want to time it properly.
This is the cheapest thing in fertility medicine and it is the first thing we suggest to couples who have not been trying long. We stock a home insemination kit because patients asked for one, not because you need to buy it from us.
Worth reading before you start:
What to do next
Work out your fertile days, try this for a few cycles, and if it has not worked in six — or three, if you are over 35 — send us your reports for a free second opinion. There is no consultation to book at this stage and we are not going to sell you one.
Questions patients actually ask
- Is this as good as IUI or IVF?
- No. It is less effective than treatment in a clinic. For a couple with no known problem, the chance per cycle is roughly what it would be from well-timed intercourse.
- How often should we try in a cycle?
- Two or three times across the fertile window, every day or every other day.
- Semen leaked out afterwards. Did it fail?
- No. That happens after intercourse too. The vagina is a closed space and some fluid comes back out.
- Can we use frozen sperm at home?
- Fresh is much better. Frozen sperm needs proper thawing and handling and is really a clinic procedure.