Artificial insemination sounds a bit daunting and clinical, but is actually a simple way of becoming pregnant if it is impossible to manage it through sexual intercourse. Perhaps your partner has a medical problem preventing him from making you pregnant, or has a genetic problem makes such a pregnancy undesirable (see genetic disorders).

When it should be done

The procedure is timed to coincide with the period in your menstrual cycle when egg release (ovulation) is most likely to occur. Ovulation usually occurs 14 days before the start of your period. If your periods are regular, this point can be known with reasonable accuracy. Ovulation can also sometimes be detected by a half-degree drop in body temperature and by a change in the degree of stickiness of the mucus on the cervix. Ask your pharmacist or family planning clinic about commercial kits that help to detect the fertile time.

Why it is necessary

Many people are confused over the difference between impotence (Erectile dysfunction) and infertility. A man can be unable to have an erection yet be perfectly capable of having children, by getting treatment for the erectile dysfunction (See 'Impotence') or by using assisted methods of conception. Severely reduced fertility, where the man has very few sperm in his semen or they are not able to make you pregnant, poses more of a problem but does not mean that you and your partner cannot have children. In both of these cases it may be possible for you to become pregnant by artificial insemination. In the first case, you can use your partner's seminal fluid (semen, cum), which can almost always be obtained by masturbation. This is called AIP (artificial insemination by partner). In the second case, you can become pregnant by using seminal fluid provided by another man, who usually remains anonymous. This is called AID (artificial insemination by donor).

A small, narrow syringe is used to place the semen high into the vagina or possibly into the opening of the womb (uterus) at the cervix. If there is no other reason for infertility, the success rate is high. The whole thing is very safe and simple. If you don't like the idea of someone else doing this, you and your partner can be shown how to do it yourselves. A lot of couples find this a much better alternative.