A new technique for intrauterine insemination

The 5-cm long endpiece of a soft Nelaton's catheter, ch 6-8, splinted with a rigid polyethylene cannula, proved to be a suitable instrument for intrauterine homologous inseminations. Sixty couples were treated; indications for intrauterine insemination were subfertile semen, poor postcoital test, antisperm antibodies in male or female, and unexplained infertility of more than 5 years. Seventeen pregnancies occurred, that is 28%. The best results were obtained in the group with unexplained infertility and in the group with poor postcoital tests, combined with a good result of the in vitro sperm penetration tests. Complications of the inseminations were rare. The method did not elicit sperm agglutinins in the female; however, if sperm agglutinins were already present in the female, the titre level increased after the intrauterine inseminations.