Artificial insemination has been around since the 1800s. Artificial insemination is a process of collecting sperm cells from a male animal and manually depositing them into the reproductive tract of a female. Artificial Insemination offers many potential benefits, which can make it an attractive option for livestock producers or those interested in breeding animals with certain characteristics.
Artificial insemination does not however come without its drawbacks as well. This blog post will discuss both the pros and cons to help you decide if artificial insemination is right for your business!
Types of Insemination
Depending on where sperm insemination occurs in the woman’s uterus, one can talk about different types of insemination:
- Intra-tubal artificial insemination.
- Intracervical artificial insemination.
- Intravaginal artificial insemination.
- Intrafollicular artificial insemination.
- Artificial intrauterine insemination.
Of all these, the one that usually gives better results is artificial intrauterine insemination. The rest is usually used only in case it does not work.
Cases in which insemination can be performed
Intrauterine insemination is ideal when spermatozoa have difficulty passing through the cervix. This can occur due to alterations in semen quality or cervical mucus, or by incompatibility between the latter and male gametes. It is also a suitable process for other problems such as anovulation, ovulatory alterations, mild endometriosis, corrected tubal factor, sterility without apparent cause, sperm allergy and low sperm motility.
That is, in cases where, by themselves, spermatozoa can not travel the distance to the fallopian tube, where the egg is waiting. You Can Also Like To Read Fly Lifespan.
This method is ideal for:
- Couples in whom the source of sterility remains unknown
- Women with seminal fluid allergy
- Women with low or difficult ovulation
- Problems with the cervix
- Men with low mobility sperm
- Men with low sperm count
Requirements for Artificial Insemination
Before proceeding to insemination, a series of analyses and tests to determine if there is any possibility of carrying it out. In the first place, performs a test to detect diseases such as hepatitis C, AIDS, rubella, syphilis or toxoplasmosis. This is done to avoid contagion in both the couple and the future baby.
It is also necessary to check the tubal permeability of the woman to know if her fallopian tubes are functional. As for the man, it is necessary to make an analysis to determine his REM or Mobile Sperm Count, whose number has to surpass 3 million. Age is another factor to consider since women over 36 are less likely to fecundate than younger women.
Process
To know the optimal moment to perform the insemination, the ovarian cycle of the woman is studied. That way you can determine which day is the most fertile. In addition, couples can get to perform, ovarian stimulation through hormones to facilitate the process. Although it is necessary to take precautions or else multiple pregnancies may occur.
Take a sample of sperm (it can be from a sperm bank, an anonymous donor or the couple) this way you can in the lab can eliminate the seminal plasma and leave the strongest sperm. When the time comes, semen can be introduced into the woman’s cervix through a cannula. It is a painless process and only requires a 30-60 minute break.
Results
The odds of success vary depending on the number of cycles to submit to the woman but also to the provenance of semen. In a single cycle, the pregnancy rate for women under 35 years is between 13 and 25 percent, if the semen comes from the couple.
In the case of a donor, this figure rises to 18 and 29 percent of success. As the number of cycles increases, these probabilities increase significantly. After 4 cycles of insemination, the pregnancy rate for insemination from the couple’s semen is between 50 and 60 percent. While for insemination from a donor is between 60 and 70 percent.
Problems
Some problems may arise once the woman has gone through the insemination process. Due to ovarian stimulation, an ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome can occur. Although this is not frequent, due to the continuous monitoring that occurs during the ovarian cycles, in the case of appearing it must be stopped immediately.
This stimulation may also be more likely to lead to multiple pregnancies, a risk that clinics try to minimize because it carries more risks than a normal pregnancy. There is also more chance of an ectopic pregnancy. The probability of an ectopic pregnancy, however, is only 4 percent in cases of artificial insemination. The probability of miscarriage during the first weeks of pregnancy is also higher in comparison to traditional methods, accounting for 20 percent of the cases.
Pros
- Enables accelerated genetic improvement.
- Prevents the transmission of venereal diseases.
- Facilitates the transport and distribution of semen.
Cons
The disadvantage that artificial insemination may have is that It will be done when this synchrony does not occur with the correct time of ovulation. So the couple must have the ability to deliver their sperm sample on the day they are told to do so at the doctor’s office or at the clinic. In addition, both have to be able to go to the doctor at the exact time of ovulation.
Conclusion
Artificial insemination is a process that involves collecting sperm cells from a male animal and manually depositing them into the reproductive tract of a female. One can cite a number of potential benefits from the use of artificial insemination, including increased fertilization rates, reduced risk for sexually transmitted diseases or complications during pregnancy due to lower levels of stress hormones. If you need information on AI as it relates to your farm animals, don’t hesitate to reach out! We have experts available 24 hours per day who are happy to answer any questions you may have about this topic.
As A reference: Wikipedia
