All About Ovulation Induction
Aug 12, 2024
Here’s a big secret: many people struggle with fertility. And while infertility treatments are used more often each year, there are still many gaps in common knowledge about the practice. For one, you may be wondering what ovulation induction — a key part of many fertility treatment plans — is.
We at Gen 5 Fertility Center not only offer IVF and IUI, but we help our patients understand how ovulation induction is part of the process and even how it can help your fertility on its own.
Dr. Samuel Wood, Dr. Benito Villanueva, and Dr. Martin Bastuba will discuss your specific treatment plan with you and determine if ovulation induction should be a stepping stone toward further treatments or possibly all the help you need to start building your family.
First, let’s define the treatment. Ovulation induction stimulates and increases eggs' maturity, supply, and release during ovulation. The therapy relies on medications like clomiphene citrate and letrozole to create these effects.
The first is an oral medication that convinces the body its estrogen production is low, which causes increased production of FSH (or follicle-stimulating hormones). The second is also an oral medication used when clomiphene citrate causes unwanted side effects. A third medication is sometimes used to induce ovulation once the others have taken effect.
Before the process begins, you and your provider undergo a series of tests to ensure this is the right treatment for you. Blood tests, an ultrasound, and even your family medical history can help determine your path to success.
Once you begin, we give you your medication and a strict schedule. You take these oral medications for five days straight, and we monitor your follicle growth to ensure the treatment is working.
After this, you may want to try having sex naturally to see if the ovulation induction has increased your ability to conceive. But you may also choose to move into IVF or another type of treatment. You and your provider make this decision together based on your specific situation.
You may still wonder if you’re a good candidate for this procedure. If you’re a candidate for IVF, you’ll go through this process as part of your overall treatment. But people who might be good candidates for ovulation induction itself are those who
Clomiphene citrate causes side effects for many patients, including mood swings, pain, and hot flashes. If you’re likely to experience these side effects or if you’d like to try letrozole instead, this medication can be much milder and also has a lower chance of resulting in multiple births.
Ovulation induction can be uncomfortable and may cause some problematic side effects, but many patients see favorable results with this option before IVF or IUI is even needed. According to Yale Medicine, success rates with ovulation induction are comparable to those of couples with no fertility issues attempting to conceive.
Over the years, your choices for fertility treatment have become more varied and nuanced. This wonderful advancement has allowed many people to expand their families. Ovulation induction is just one of these treatment types, and we’d be happy to discuss how it might be effective for you.
Make an appointment at our San Diego, California, office today. Just visit us online or call to book and start your journey toward building your family today.