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What is Ovulation Induction?
Ovulation induction is a very common term that you may encounter
in your journey through fertility treatments. Basically, this
term refers to the use of medications to stimulate your body to
produce one or more eggs. Ovulation induction may be necessary
in women who do not ovulate consistently, but want to have a child.
There are many reasons why women do not ovulate regularly - polycystic
ovarian syndrome (PCOS), excessive exercise, and hyperprolactinemia
are just a few examples. One important prerequisite for a woman
to participate in ovulation induction is that she must have good
quality eggs remaining in her ovaries. This procedure is of no
use to women who have ovarian failure or eggs of poor quality.
Ovulation induction can be as simple as taking a daily pill or
more complicated, like injecting fertility medications and seeing
your specialist daily for necessary monitoring. The simplest form
of ovulation induction involves taking clomiphene. Clomiphene
is a small tablet that must be taken on specified days of the
cycle. It is relatively inexpensive and has very few side effects.
If taken correctly, clomiphene can be very effective in inducing
ovulation. As many as 50-80% of women who take clomiphene will
ovulate, however only about half of these will achieve a pregnancy.
In some cases, a woman may need a little extra help in getting
her body to produce eggs. Remember, not everyone is the same and
therefore not every woman will necessarily respond to clomiphene.
More potent medications, known as the gonadotropins, are available
for more intensive ovulation induction. Gonadotropins are injectable
medications that are made up of a combination of follicle stimulating
hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) or just FSH alone.
These hormones can be very helpful in getting a woman to produce
and release her eggs. Because these medications are so potent,
you will be required to visit your specialist's office frequently
to get appropriate monitoring and guidance. This can include bloodwork,
ultrasound, or just verbal counselling in regards to dosing and
injection techniques. Close contact with your healthcare team
will ensure that you get the best outcome from the treatment and
also help prevent potential side effects from the therapy.
For some women, ovulation induction with medications will not
be enough to achieve pregnancy. Even if the medications work,
there may be other reasons that prevent the couple from becoming
pregnant - for example, a low sperm count. For couples where ovulation
induction is unsuccessful in producing a pregnancy, one of many
ART (e.g.. ICSI, IVF, ZIFT, and GIFT) procedures may be
advised as the next path to parenthood.
The success of ovulation induction in achieving a pregnancy is
highly variable. It depends on your diagnosis, age, the medication
being used, and numerous other factors. Therefore, it is important
that you speak with your specialist regarding your anticipated
rate of success with a chosen treatment.
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