At-Home Insemination Kits: How Do They Work?

Did you know, you can get pregnant without actually having sex?

Enter, the turkey baster… 🦃

Only kidding!

But, it’s not far off…

You may have heard of at-home insemination, but you may be wondering how it all actually works.

At-home insemination can be performed in the comfort of your own home, on your own terms… or you can choose to have this performed at a doctor’s office, instead.

Either way, what are the success rates?

And is at-home insemination safe?

That’s why we’re here — helping you to make the best decisions for you and your partner, and get clued up with all things insemination. 👇

In this article: 📝

What is at-home insemination?

At-home insemination (also known as intracervical insemination — ICI) is a way to get pregnant without actually having sex.

You may have heard of the old wives’ tale of the ‘turkey baster method’. 🦃

Now, while turkey basters might not get you pregnant, a specifically designed insemination kit might.

So, the theory is still the same!

By using an at-home insemination kit (and carefully monitoring your ovulation cycle), you can insert a syringe filled with your partner’s semen into your vagina, and up to the cervix.

Think of it as an Uber for the sperm — destination; egg. 🥚

Why use at-home insemination kits?

At-home insemination (or artificial insemination, in general) is useful for people who struggle with sexual performance — both men, and women.

For example, a study into unconsummated marriages found that 67% of cases were due to vaginismus, 22% down to erectile dysfunction, and premature ejaculation in 11%.

At-home insemination can help overcome these issues for conception.

Another reason why people may choose this route is if they want to get pregnant, but they’re not currently in a relationship with anyone (in this case, you’d be able to use semen from a sperm bank — more on this later 👇).

And, of course, this could also be helpful for same-sex couples, too.

Basically, it eliminates the pressure and need for male-female penetrative sex in order to conceive.

It’s economical, effective, and painless — and a much more personal way of TTC than being in a doctor’s office!

Get Clued Up: All You Need to Know About Artificial Insemination 💉

What is the success rate of home insemination kits?

Research published in the journal Human Reproduction showed that ICI pregnancy rate is on average 37.9% after six treatment cycles.

But, honestly?

It all really depends on your individual circumstances.

This includes factors such as your age, how fast your partner’s semen swims, how many swimmers are in the race, and the duration of infertility.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has found ICI success rates of 58% in under 30s, 50% in 30-34 and 39% in over 34s within 6 cycles.

Tips for at-home insemination

So, want to know the best tips for success rates with ICI?

We’ll tell you everything we know about how to do insemination at home:

🥚 Track your ovulation

First things first, get your timings right. 📅

Using an app or your diary, mark out when you ovulate each month and start to get a picture of your monthly cycle habits.

Unsure what to look for?

Keep an eye on any changes in your discharge, any abdominal pain, or a change in your basal body temperature.

Plus, you can also use ovulation tests, too.

🔍 Get Tracking: How To Tell When You’re Ovulating 🥚

💊 Pills to induce ovulation

At-home insemination is usually recommended alongside medications to induce ovulation, such as Femara or Clomid.

This is because it will hopefully increase your chances of producing matured eggs.

But this should be discussed in detail with your doctor first, to make sure you’re taking the most appropriate medication for you and your conception circumstances.

🧢 Cervical cap

Not as scary as it sounds — we promise!

A cervical cap is a little cup made of soft silicone, and is inserted into the vagina to cover the entrance to your cervix.

Think, menstrual cups! 🌙

The cap stays in the cervix for a set period of time (typically between 6 - 48 hours), and it’s thought to help with conception chances.

🧪 Choosing the right at-home insemination kit

So, now you need to find the best at-home insemination kit for you.

And there are a few choices on the market to consider…

For example, this at-home insemination kit from Frida Fertility offers a convenient, comfortable solution to trying for a baby.

With a slanted collection cup for no wasted spillage, and round bottom to make sure no semen is left behind, it’s designed with you in mind.

Another good option is the Mosie Baby Insemination Kit, which is the first and only FDA-cleared at-home intravaginal insemination kit.

Allowing you the privacy of conceiving in your own home, on your own terms, it’s designed to be comfortable and easy to use.

👀 Read the instructions

Superrrrr important one!

Each at-home insemination kit has its own instructions and ways of collecting, and inserting, the semen.

So be sure to read it all carefully before you get started.

Also, make certain that your partner is clued up with how to collect the semen, too.

In most cases, he’ll need to ejaculate into a collection cup, and then use a syringe to suck in the sperm.

The instructions will also tell you how many milliliters of sperm are needed for a successful ICI pregnancy, and all the dos and don’ts to watch out for.

⏰ Choose your window wisely

The insemination should take place ideally on the day of the LH surge, or the day after.

But, definitely within the next 2 - 3 days.

For most women, their ovulation window is around day 12-16 of your cycle, but it depends on the length of your cycle and whether you have regular periods or not.

😌 Get comfortable

Ladies, you’ll want to get yourselves into a comfortable position.

Preferably, you should be laying down on your side, or with your hips raised.

The syringe should then be slowly and gently glided into the vagina until it’s close to the cervix.

Then, you or your partner will need to slowly inject the sperm to coat the outside of the cervix.

Et voilà.

But, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t ever feel any pain, or go into the cervix at all.

This can cause cervical injury, and abdominal cramping.

If you do feel any pain, it means you’ve gone too far.

Stop progressing and slowly retreat.

Monitor yourself for a few hours, if any pain worsens or you notice vaginal bleeding, make sure to seek medical attention.

🛏️ Stay laying down

Avoid moving around for about 15-20 minutes or so.

This is just to give the sperm a chance to hop out of their Uber, and make their way through the cervix to hopefully reach your egg.

So, you may be wondering…

How long after home insemination can I pee? 🚾

Well, the theory is you should stay laying down for 15 minutes or so.

So, it’s probably best to wait until then if you can.

In the meantime, you can whack on a Netflix series, lay back, and relax — and let nature do its thing. 😌

How to inseminate at home using donor sperm

Firstly, you’d need to think about who you’d like to use as your sperm donor.

It could be somebody you already know (but all legal paperwork must be completed still in this scenario), somebody through a donor introduction website, or through an overseas sperm bank.

You’d follow the same procedure as you would for inserting your partner’s sperm but, as the sperm will be cryopreserved (frozen), this will need to be thawed before inseminated.

You’ll receive instructions on how to do this but, for example, it could be thawed in a cup of room-temperature water for about 15 minutes.

But, it should be noted that it’s always safer to have treatment with donor sperm at a licensed clinic.

That’s because clinics carry out rigorous tests to ensure that donors, patients, and any future children are protected, as well as offering everyone involved counselling.

How safe is home insemination?

Although it has many benefits, there are some small risks that come with at-home insemination.

Such as getting an infection in your vagina from using non-sterilised equipment, as it can be easier to contaminate the kit at home compared to a sterile lab.

Also, with at-home insemination, your partner’s sperm may not have been disease screened, meaning you or your baby’s health could be at risk, whereas a disease screening would happen in a clinic setting.

It’s also possible to cause injury to the vagina by trying to perform home insemination yourself.

Is home insemination legal?

Yep — it’s all legal!

There are even specific products (like the Mosie baby above 👆) that the FDA has approved, and the product has been given Class II clearance.

At-home insemination using donor sperm is also legal, too.

Is at-home insemination cheaper?

Compared to the cost of artificial insemination in a clinic, such as IUI, at-home insemination is considerably more affordable.

That’s because, with clinics, extra costs are included for members of staff, and use of the facilities.

So, trying out insemination at home is a great way to save some money! 💰

So, ready to give it a go?

First things first — get in touch with your doc.

They’ll be able to walk you through the best options based on your medical history, and advise you whether at-home insemination would work for you.

Want to chat things through with women in the same boat as you?

We have just the place…

Join our Community on Peanut to get involved in the conversation. 🥜