A Review of Pregnancy Outcomes following Intrauterine insemination for Infertile Women at a Public Health Facility in Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Infertility is a problem of public health importance in Nigeria and many other developing nations because of its high prevalence and its  serious social implications on affected couples and families. Of the various treatment options available for the treatment of infertility, intrauterine  insemination is a viable option with appreciable success rate. The study aimed to determine pregnancy outcomes following intrauterine insemination.

Materials and Methods: Twenty one (21) clients who underwent the procedure of Intrauterine insemination between 1^st January 2012 and 31^st December 2013 at the Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) unit of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria.

Results: The patients aged 26-40 years with a mean age of 32.1± 3.9 year. Nine (42.9%) had primary infertility while 12 (57.1%) had secondary infertility.  Their duration of infertility ranged from 1to 8years (4.3 ± 2 years). Two (9.5%) had Artificial Insemination by donor's semen (AID). Nine clinical pregnancies were recorded giving a cumulative pregnancy rate of 42.9%. However 5(55.6%) resulted in early first trimester miscarriage and of the remaining four  pregnancies, one woman successfully delivered, giving a live birth rate of 25%. Pregnancy outcome was not significantly affected by age of the woman,  husband age, social class, types and duration of infertility (p>0.01).

Conclusion: Intrauterine insemination is one of the mainstays of therapy for couples  suffering from various forms of infertility prior to embarking upon the more expensive in vitro fertilization procedures. Thus the need for proper patient  selection to increase pregnancy rates from the procedure.