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Ovulation Induction

Ovulation Induction Take charge with ovulation induction

Make your fertile window work for you with expert treatment using ovulation induction at my Sydney fertility clinic.

Ovulation induction (OI) is a minimally-invasive fertility treatment used to encourage your body to release an egg at a certain time. This predictability can help you to time intercourse with your partner during this facilitated fertile window, increasing your chances of conception.

How ovulation induction works

Ovulation refers to the release of a mature egg from one of your ovaries. In a regular cycle, this occurs once a month. Timing intercourse with your partner in the few days before and after ovulation is when you are most likely to fall pregnant. These days surrounding ovulation is known as the fertile window.

However, it isn’t always easy to identify when you (as the female partner) have ovulated and when you should have intercourse. Ovulation induction removes this uncertainty. 

I may suggest ovulation induction if:

  • Your menstrual cycles are irregular
  • You are premenopausal and have ceased having menstrual periods
  • Have unexplained infertility but healthy fallopian tubes
  • Are unable to have intercourse with your partner during your fertile window due to timing and schedules
  • Are undergoing intrauterine insemination (IUI)

OI can be a sensible, non-invasive alternative to IVF for suitable patients who want to fall pregnant naturally but just need a little help with timing.

Find out more about IVF

The OI process explained

Icon representing ovulation ovarian – Dr I Ferne Tan Sydney

1. Ovarian stimulation

Once we have decided that OI is the way to go, I will prescribe a medication to stimulate your ovaries to ovulate. These medications can either be in an oral tablet form or as an injection, and are selected based on your body and the factors affecting your fertility.

Icon representing ovulation monitoring – Dr I Ferne Tan Sydney

2. Monitoring

I monitor your menstrual cycle with blood tests and ultrasound scans in order to accurately identify your fertile window. This monitoring is also important to watch the development of your ovarian follicles to try and avoid a multiple pregnancy as this comes with an increased risk of pregnancy complications.

Icon representing ovulation timing – Dr I Ferne Tan Sydney

3. Timed intercourse/insemination

Once we have pinpointed when you’re expected to ovulate, I will recommend you and your partner have intercourse every second day within your fertile window to maximise your chances of falling pregnant. If you are having OI as part of the IUI procedure, this window is when we introduce your partner’s prepared sperm into your uterus.

Find out more about IUI

Icon representing ovulation pregnancy test – Dr I Ferne Tan Sydney

4. Pregnancy test

2 weeks after your fertile window, I will arrange for you to have a pregnancy blood test.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If your body is very responsive to the medications, you can ovulate more than one egg and end up with twins (or more!). While this might sound like a double blessing, it is a harder and riskier pregnancy with an increased risk of almost every possible pregnancy complication.

The success rates of OI are the same as the pregnancy rates for women per age. In general, there is a 25% chance of conceiving each month if you’re in your 20s; 15% chance at 35 years old; and 5% if you’re over 40.

There’s no right or wrong answer. Most people are ready to consider alternative fertility treatment options after three cycles but this is a personal decision.

Unfortunately this is not possible with this approach as preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) requires creation of embryos in a lab to allow for biopsy of a few cells.

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