How Counsellor can help during IUI Treatment

Often people dealing with problems such as infertility need support and counselling because of the emotional stress they are going through. IUI Treatment such as IUI, IVF are commonly used to increase the chances of couples of becoming parents. IUI treatments involve inserting the motile sperm directly into a woman’s uterus.

When couples who are facing fertility issues decide to opt for fertility treatments, they tend to have a plethora of questions and often seek some guidance. Which treatment is right for you? Which will have side -effects? Is it the right decision to go for IUI treatment? And many more. During such a situation, a counsellor plays a vital role. Fertility counsellor helps to navigate the extraordinary time of people’s life.

The counsellors are available to speak with the patient about the emotional crises that may arise with either of the partner or between the partners. Complimentary sessions are offered to offer support and care to the patient at their critical stage of life. Counselling therapy is preferably offered by an individual rather than a team of medical experts.

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) Treatment varies from couple to couple and involves few steps before the artificial insemination process takes place. Preliminary investigation step involves analysis of quality and motility of the sperm. Ultrasound during mid-cycle step involves tracking the number of eggs and their development. The third step involves triggering injection to release the eggs. IUI treatment is attempted after 32 to 36 hours of these steps.

How can Counselling benefit you during IUI Treatment?

It would be preferable and suggested to consult a counsellor during fertility treatment which will benefit both you and your partner or spouse. Some of the benefits of consulting a counsellor for IUI Treatment are as follows –

• Emotional health is evaluated and boosted.
  • Helps to deal and cope with the stress associated with infertility issues as well as treatment.
  • Helps to learn and improve communication skills with family and friends.
  • Enables to find the right solution for you by talking through various options.
  • Helps to discover various infertility resources as per your need.
  • Peer-to-peer talk with one another is possible through small group conversations.

When can someone seek IUI Treatment counsellor’s help?

Fertility Counsellor for IUI offers sufficient information about the pros and cons of medical treatments to the patients. Counselling is recommended to the couples for the following scenarios –

• Women who get pregnant with multiples.
  • After a previous loss of the child or during pregnancy.
  • Couples who are considering for TDIs (Therapeutic Donor Inseminations).
  • Couples opting for pregnancy via a third-party donation.
  • For short term therapy for couples seeking for a particular outcome.
  • When the treatment like IUI or IVF fails.

Fertility Counsellor for IUI

Counselling sessions help to recognize various psycho-social and emotional problems faced by couples having fertility issues. The counsellors help to resolve the issue by conducting various therapy and counselling sessions.

There are various types of counselling sessions for the couples who are facing infertility issues. They include –

1. Pre-treatment counselling which is a prior session before starting the fertility treatment. This counselling depends on what type of fertility treatments the couple is taking. The discussion involved in Pre-treatment counselling includes –
   • Explore and discussion of any issue that might affect the treatment.
   • Usually, couples might get confused about the medication which can affect the treatment. Pre-treatment counselling helps to understand the medical advice given to the couple during the treatment.
   • Helps the couple to understand the rights, psychosocial, and ethical implications, responsibilities, and any legal consideration to be taken care of.
   • The important details and information which the couple is not aware of are clarified during this session.

Once the pre-treatment counselling is done, the counsellor asks the couples to provide informed consent and to sign the IUI consent form.

2. Supportive counselling which helps the patient to deal with difficult circumstances and emotions. The counsellor helps the patients to cope up with various issues such as –
   • Work on relationship issues which can occur due to ongoing treatment and can also hamper the treatment
   • Explore for various options available for fertility treatment and help to prepare, start, change, and stop the treatment.
   • The counsellor helps to cope with the pregnancy losses or unsuccessful treatment cycles.
   • Help to develop various strategies to deal with other’s pregnancy and the birth of children.
   • Helps to deal and manage anxiety issues faced by pregnant women during pregnancy.
   • The counsellor helps to deal with the IUI treatment and its impact on couple life.

During Supportive counselling, the counsellor encourages the patient to take a positive approach towards the treatment, emotions, relationships, and physical health of the patient.

3. Donor and surrogacy counselling involves offering to counsel in taking certain decisions such as –
   • What will be the impact and implications if the couple is opting for a donor-conceived child?
   • Whether to disclose or not to the child, family, and friends about the treatment?
   • Offers supportive counselling materials for the couple to have a deep understanding of the issues and treatments.

The experts help in taking important decisions related to the treatment and offers mandatory sessions for the couples to be undertaken. The counsellor helps the couples in making the decision and are always available for the patients.

How successful is IUI?

Couples are often curious to know about Intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatments success rate and wonder if it could make you get pregnant and conceive. There are various factors for IUI treatment’s success rate. It includes –

1. Age of a woman undergoing IUI treatment.
   2. Status of the Fallopian tube
   3. Sample of sperm

Based on the number of IUI cycles you are willing to undergo, below is the estimation of chances for pregnancy –

• With just one IUI cycle, around 10 to 20 percent of women have the chances of getting pregnant.
  • The chances of getting pregnant increases with the higher number of IUI cycle a woman undergoes. For example, the pregnancy success rate will be up to 80 percent, if a woman undergoes 3 to 6 cycles of IUI.
  • The pregnancy success rate is almost the same or lower of couples undergoing IUI treatment with the couples that become pregnant on their own.

As per the research, if the couple is using frozen donor sperm, the success rate of IUI is higher as compared to the intravaginal insemination.

The success rate of IUI treatment with one cycle with terms of age is as follows –

• 10 to 20 percent success rate for women under 35.
  • 10 percent success rate for women between 30 to 40.
  • 2 to 5 percent success rate for women of 40 and above.

Couples can try with IUI treatment multiple numbers of times i.e. around 3 to 6 times before the actual pregnancy occurs. For women over the age of 35, IUI can be a better option whereas for women over 40 years of age can consult with a doctor and move to treatments such as IVF.

The healthcare provider can offer better suggestions such as correct time and boost the IUI procedure. IUI has to performed before a woman ovulate. Usage of Ovulation predictor kit (OPK) can be done to determine and monitor the best time for conducting IUI treatment.

Most of the couples need counselling to determine whether the IUI treatment is right for them or not. Before moving forward with other expensive and intensive treatments like IVF, it is better to consult a doctor and a counsellor who can show the right direction. Doctors provide accurate suggestions that can also help to couple to conceive at the right time.

Patients who are suffering from issues like anxiety, emotional stress are offered with strategies to cope up with the problems. These can help them to carry out with the treatment smoothly. Counselling is basically a comprehensive approach that helps an individual or couples to cope up with the unusual amount of stress they go through because of infertility issues. Counsellor’s goal is to find out the strength, weakness, and support the networks to make the patient feel better about themselves during the IUI or IVF treatment.

There are many couples who approach a counsellor with ease while some might have questions involved in the relationship between a counsellor and the patient. When consulting the counsellor for the first time, the patient can attend it individually for support counselling. Always remember, whatever stage you are at, a right piece of advice and suggestion can never go waste. Counsellors are sensitive to the emotions of their patients and offer the best routine and treatment to them. While proceeding with the IUI treatment, a counsellor can help to explore strategies and offer a supportive environment to the patient. So, explore the options and contact and talk to a counsellor in order to deal with the fear, difficulty, distress, and anxiety you are going through.