Ovulation Induction
What is ovulation induction?
Ovulation induction is the stimulation of ovulation by medication. This is needed in cases of anovulation where ovulation does not occur spontaneously. One common example is women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Ovulation induction also helps with the timing of sexual intercourse and of further fertility treatment such as IUI.
Who should have ovulation induction?
Ovulation induction is generally used for women who:
- Do not ovulate regularly on their own (anovulation) – sometimes in conjunction with other syndromes such as those with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Have irregular or even completely absent periods
How does ovulation induction work?
Medicine is used to stimulate the follicle or follicles in your ovaries to produce an egg(s). The medication commonly used in ovulation induction is clomiphene citrate tablets (Clomid). This is given for five days starting from day 2 of the cycle.
Fertility tablets are not always effective and fertility injections such as gonadotrophin injections would be necessary to stimulate follicle development within the ovaries. In the case of the injections these could be self administered on a daily basis.
The response to these fertility drugs is then monitored by ultrasound scans and blood tests.
Risks of Ovulation Induction
There are a number of risks associated with ovulation induction:
- Multiple births
- Simple ovarian cysts
- Ovarian hyper-stimulation
Depending on the results of monitoring we may advise you to discontinue trying within the cycle.