Ovulation Induction Boosts the Body’s Reproductive Capabilities

Conception occurs only after a complex series of events takes place, from hormonal triggers to follicle development and ovulation. Failure to ovulate, or anovulation, can cause significant frustration when you are trying to get pregnant. Dr. James Douglas of IVF Plano intercedes with ovulation induction, a first-line fertility treatment to greatly improve the chances for getting pregnant.

Ovarian stimulation, with oral and/or injectable fertility medications, causes ovulation to occur in 75 percent of cases, and greatly increases the chances for the sperm and egg to meet in the fallopian tube.

Time-tested fertility medications such as Clomid or injectable fertility medications (gonadotropins) ensure timely ovulation of one or more eggs, and Dr. James Douglas often begins with this course of treatment for women that do not regularly ovulate or ovulate at all.

The Life cycle of an Egg: Explaining Natural Cycle Ovulation

  • During the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, ovulation begins in the hypothalamus part of the brain in the pituitary gland.
  • The pituitary gland, part of the body’s endocrine system that regulates hormones, signals the ovaries with follicle stimulating hormones (FSH). A follicle is a sac that stores an oocyte, or egg.
  • Typically, more than one follicle grows and matures each month, but only the dominant follicle will release an egg. This release is called ovulation.
  • Upon ovulation, the egg travels to the fallopian tube, where fertilization by a single sperm may occur.
  • During the luteal phase, the fertilized egg moves to the uterus for implantation. If not, the body absorbs the unused eggs, sheds the endometrial lining and the cycle begins again.

Natural Cycle Ovulation Induction

When Dr. Douglas prescribes clomiphene citrate, fertility treatment begins on Day 3 of your menstrual cycle, with a course of five days of oral medication to induce ovulation.

An ovulation predictor kit can help you time intercourse to coincide with ovulation, or you may schedule a series of sonograms to allow Dr. Douglas to monitor follicle growth leading up to and after ovulation.

With Clomid alone, approximately 60 percent of couples will get pregnant after six cycles.

Some women do not respond to oral medications alone, and may benefit from adding gonadotropins to the fertility treatment regimen. Should you and Dr. Douglas decide to pursue this option, the Frisco IVF staff will schedule your appointments and prepare you to give and receive injections.

Ovulation Induction with IUI or IVF

With therapeutic insemination, sperm is washed and concentrated in the Frisco IVF andrology laboratory and then inseminated directly into the uterus. Therapeutic insemination brings the sperm and the egg closer to each other and may overcome some anatomical barriers.

There are few negative side effects associated with ovulation induction, but they include:

  • Risk for multiple births
  • Hot flashes
  • Hyper-stimulation
  • Nausea
  • Bloating
  • Headache
  • Uterine bleeding

If you have chosen to partner with a fertility specialist, you will likely welcome the opportunity to take additional measures to increase the odds for getting pregnant. Contact Dr. Douglas in his Frisco-area office to inquire about ovulation induction paired with intrauterine insemination.