It’s a blessing when you welcome a newborn baby to the world. However, not everyone is capable of creating one. This problem resulted in the invention of different pregnancy methods, and there are still more in the works. One of these ways is natural insemination or simply having sex.
You may say that natural insemination is the traditional method of making babies. But what makes natural insemination different from the usual sexual intercourse is that you’re procreating naturally with a sperm donor.
How Does Natural Insemination Work?
Natural insemination is another term for sexual intercourse, and it is one of the traditional ways to get pregnant. Natural insemination is the most favored among single ladies or lesbian couples who want to have kids.
The first step of natural insemination is done through the Internet. There are several websites where you can find a prospective sperm donor. Once you have settled for a specific sperm donor, you will meet up with him to have sex. There are “no strings attached” or no romantic feelings between you as the recipient and the sperm donor during the intercourse.
Advantages of Natural Insemination
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Natural insemination has benefits similar to that of partners having sexual intercourse minus the romantic entanglement between you and your sperm donor. Here are some advantages of natural insemination:
Natural Insemination May Be More Effective
Success rates in conceiving a child through natural insemination are higher than other methods because having sex is the most common method in conceiving. Most of the time, sperm donors are the ones who make this claim to encourage this method. This argument is still debatable since there are claims from women that other alternatives are more effective than natural insemination — according to an NCBI article, “Conception is most likely to occur in the first month of trying (about a 30% conception rate).”
No Need for Other Materials in Natural Insemination
If you opt for natural insemination, you don’t need a syringe or undergo tedious medical procedures just to have semen inside you. Natural insemination is less hassle for you because you only need to perform sexual intercourse with your sperm donor.
Disadvantages of Natural Insemination
Everything has its drawbacks. Here are some instances where some recipients changed their minds in pushing through with natural insemination:
Legal Consequences in Natural Insemination
Whether you’re single or married, your sperm donor will still be recognized as the legal father of your child in the eyes of the law. In any case, you can claim for custody rights. If you are in a civil partnership, your sperm donor may have a better legal right to custody rights to your child than your partner.
Unsure If Sperm Donor Is Safe
If your sperm donor has done this method before, their chances of carrying a sexual disease are likely. There are also instances where the recipient has a sexually transmitted disease as well, which will affect the donor’s life. Before proceeding, take a health screening test, and the results must be negative.
Most websites do not include a section about their medical history. You may also need to ask your sperm donor about their medical history if he has any hereditary, genetic, or psychiatric conditions.
Some Donors Target Women for Free Sex
Some donors may be lying about themselves, and they only want pleasure. So they take advantage of websites and look for vulnerable women and encourage them to perform natural insemination. So take precautionary measures and do an identity check of your sperm donor before jumping into the process.
For the most part, there are still sensible donors. A guy with the username “Playfulspirit” on a sperm donor website said in his profile that he only offers natural insemination to “very deserving women.” He believes that “natural insemination has produced the highest success rate of pregnancy in every donation I have been personally involved with.”
Emotional Effects
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Some recipients are affected emotionally with natural insemination.
- Emotional attachment mostly happens to single women who want to conceive. They may feel attached to their sperm donor and may see them as their potential father for her child.
- Some lesbian couples feel uncomfortable with this method because there are different options to get pregnant.
- If you have a partner, it might be risky to have intercourse with a sperm donor. It might sour the relationship between you and your partner because of your partner’s insecurity or jealousy.
Natural Insemination vs. Other Pregnancy Methods
Natural insemination is cheaper than the other pregnancy methods because you don’t need any equipment for it to be successful. But aside from this, how does it differ from other pregnancy methods? Let’s take a look at other common pregnancy alternatives and what their benefits are.
At-Home Insemination
At-home insemination is preferred by couples and single women who do not want too much medical intervention or have anxiety in going to clinics. This method involves inserting sperm into a woman’s vagina through a syringe.
Some advantages of opting for this method include
- performing this process within the comfort of your home,
- using fresh sperm,
- more involvement in the process, and
- availability of low-cost kits in drugstores and clinics.
In Vitro Fertilization
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a type of artificial insemination consisting of a series of medical procedures to help you with fertility and assist in the conception of a child. It is done by collecting egg cells from a woman’s body and fertilized by sperm in a laboratory dish. After insemination, the fertilized egg will be transferred to the uterus. A full cycle of IVF usually takes 3 weeks.
IVF is the last resort of most infertile couples. You can also avail of IVF anytime if you still have other priorities or you are not yet ready.
It’s important that you test the sperm fertility of the donor. You can provide this kit to make sure you have the right numbers. Also consider taking some prenatal fertility vitamins so you are in tip-top shape to bear a child. According to the NHS, “IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was 32% for women under 35,” although this number goes down sharply as you age over 40.
Intrauterine Insemination
Another type of Artificial Insemination is the Intrauterine insemination (IUI). IUI involves placing the sperm inside a woman’s uterus for fertilization to take effect. Sperms get inside the womb through a fine plastic tube. Women may also take ovary-stimulating hormones to increase the chances of getting pregnant.
IUI is a fast-tracked fertilization as compared to having regular sex. However, it may have some side effects to a woman such as cramps similar to period cramps. According to the NCBI, “overall pregnancy rates after insemination were 5-15% and thus clearly lower than those obtained with more invasive reproductive methods such as IVF or ICSI.” However, it being less invasive may be appealing to some mothers.
When to Go for Natural Insemination
Women have “fertile windows” during ovulation. To ensure the effectiveness of natural insemination, the best time to have intercourse with your sperm donor is during these days.
During ovulation, a matured egg is released from the ovary. Then it moves down to the fallopian tube where it can be fertilized. If the sperm and egg meet in the fallopian tube, there is a high chance of getting pregnant.
However, the egg will only be ready for fertilization for 12 to 24 hours. Beyond this period, a woman can no longer get pregnant since the egg is no longer in the fallopian tube.
Some symptoms show you are already ovulating. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Swelling and tenderness of breasts
- Stomach cramps
- Increased desire for sexual activity
- A rise in body temperature
- The thickness of vaginal mucus
It’s essential to keep track of your menstrual cycle so that you’ll know when is the best time for you to get pregnant. You can use a period tracker or an ovulation prediction kit sold in drugstores. This way, you will know when you’re fertile.
Are There Any Positions to Get Pregnant?
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There are no pieces of evidence to support the claim that there are certain sexual positions to increase the chances of getting pregnant. But you’re not going to lose anything if you believe in it! You may do the missionary position or the doggy style because these will enable the penis to penetrate up to your cervix and enhance the chance of the sperm to enter the uterus and reach the egg.
Should You Go for It?
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Going for natural insemination will depend on you. Always go for the method that you feel most comfortable with. If you still aren’t familiar with the different pregnancy methods, you can read up on reliable medical websites or consult experts about them. In choosing the best pregnancy method for you, consider your budget, safety, comfort, and other circumstances.
Consider these three questions before doing natural insemination with your sperm donor:
- Do you and your sperm donor practice proper hygiene?
- Did your donor test fertile to get you pregnant?
- Have you given your full consent to have sex with him?
If natural insemination is a success for you, congratulations! If you want more tips and words of encouragement, Preggy To Mommy has more articles that might be helpful for you throughout your pregnancy journey. Good luck!
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- How effective is natural insemination?
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- What is partial natural insemination?
- What are the disadvantages of natural insemination?
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