Establishing an intrauterine insemination programme from a nursing perspective

Abstract

The Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Bristol has been performing simple donor insemination for more than 10 years. Evidence indicates that intrauterine insemination using donated sperm results in higher success rates than intracervical insemination (Ford et al., 1997). As donor insemination at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine gives an overall success rate of 10% (January 1998 – July 1999), which compares very favourably with other centres licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the decision was taken to continue to offer this as the primary service and in addition to offer intrauterine insemination to certain categories of women. Extending the well-established donor insemination service to include intrauterine insemination was a natural progression for nurses already skilled in this area. The aim of this article is to share with other healthcare professionals the key involvement of specialist fertility nurses in the development of an intrauterine insemination programme.