While researching about pregnancy, I came across a rather controversial topic: at-home artificial insemination. But what is this, really? So many women pay a considerable amount to have a clinical procedure like this done, and suddenly I come across this “new” idea. But do you actually know what at-home insemination is? Do you know how it works and what risks are involved in this practice?
Artificial Insemination (AI) is a method used to deliver semen directly into the uterus without sexual intercourse. This procedure shortens the distance between the treated sperm and the egg, making it easier for pregnancy to occur1. It is indicated for couples dealing with Unexplained Infertility (UI), women with chronic anovulation (i.e., persistent absence of ovulation), or hostile cervical mucus. Also, before it’s recommended, tubal evaluation is necessary (to ensure the fallopian tubes are open and functioning properly) as well as a semen analysis, since the semen also needs to be normal. For this procedure to take place, the woman consults a fertility specialist and uses the appropriate medication to stimulate ovulation, and then undergoes insemination on the right day. But what about at-home insemination?
Theoretically, at-home insemination would work in much the same way—with the difference being that the sperm would not be treated as it is in a lab, and the insemination is performed in a much rougher way, without anesthesia or proper instruments. This method is commonly used by women who wish to have children, and the reasons are many: a husband with infertility issues or even sterility, or same-sex couples seeking to have a child with the help of a sperm donor.
How Exactly Is At-Home Artificial Insemination Done?
As we know, every medical procedure carries the possibility of risks or side effects. However, when artificial insemination is done by a fertility specialist in a proper clinic, the risks are very low.
And why point this out? Because while AI performed by a specialist generally poses no problems, at-home artificial insemination does carry serious risks.
Since at-home insemination is performed by untrained people in domestic settings—meaning outside healthcare facilities and without professional assistance—the main danger is the possibility of transmitting diseases to the mother and baby2. This happens because material is introduced into the woman’s body without clinical testing, i.e., without assessing risk behaviors or laboratory screening for infectious agents like HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Zika Virus, and others.
That said, women who try this method usually carry it out during their fertile window. They often carefully calculate this window to carry out the procedure on their ovulation peak day3. Nowadays, with so much information available, many follow the Billings method or use fertile period calculators or an ovulation calculator.
By the way, if you are trying to get pregnant and want to closely track your cycle and ovulation, a great way to help is to use a mobile APP for cycle tracking, like the Paula APP. Another spot-on tip is ovulation tests, which will show if this phase is approaching, happening, or has already ended, indicating the most suitable time to try and help you get your positive result faster. You can buy your ovulation test here in our online store.
Still talking about at-home artificial insemination, it is obviously necessary to have sperm. So, when women decide to take this risk and have a donor, they ask him to deposit the material in a plastic collection cup. These are usually the same type used for laboratory exams.
Besides the risk of disease transmission we already mentioned, another concern women face when trying at-home insemination is protecting the sperm from the outside environment. Their biggest concern is using it as soon as possible. This is because semen can be kept at room temperature for up to two hours, but any contact with air can kill sperm in a few seconds.
Generally, women who take this risk use a regular syringe, typically one of the thinner 10ml syringes, since they are aware the procedure could hurt them.
Well, moving forward with this controversial topic, many women carry out the procedure only once, while others try throughout the fertile period. And when they miss a period for at least 5 days, or 20 days after the at-home insemination is done, they take a pregnancy test.
Does it sound like something from a movie? We can say yes, since it’s quite unusual (to say the least) to do things this way. The film “The Switch” depicts exactly this scenario: a single woman wanting to become a mother who buys donor sperm from a sperm bank.
She throws a party to celebrate, but her best friend accidentally drops all the sperm down the sink. To fix the situation, he substitutes his own sperm. The insemination works, and seven years later, he meets a true mini version of himself: his son. Still, we must emphasize that, in real life, at-home insemination could turn into a horror story due to all the risks involved.
In Brazil, there is a bank of donated and frozen sperm, Pro-Seed, but sperm is not sold freely like it is abroad. The United States, by the way, is a pioneer in this kind of business.
This sperm bank is often used by fertility specialists who see a couple’s wish to become parents but find one partner with serious fertility problems or even sterility. Abroad, couples with infertility issues can go to a sperm bank with no specific request or authorization required.
In Brazil, however, all commercialization of human biological material is prohibited, according to Article 199 of the 1988 Federal Constitution. All donations of human substances or parts of the body, such as blood, organs, tissues, and sperm, must be done voluntarily and altruistically.
To conclude, we emphasize that women who subject themselves to this kind of procedure in the attempt to get pregnant need to be aware of how harmful it can be. Since these activities are performed outside of healthcare settings and the sperm does not come from a sperm bank, local/state health authorities and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) have no power to regulate.
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See also: How Long Does Ovulation Last?
