Ovulation induction (OI)

Sometimes, your body just needs a little encouragement. Ovulation induction is a simple treatment that gently stimulates your ovaries to release an egg. There are no injections involved, and you can still try for pregnancy naturally with your partner.

What is ovulation induction?

Ovulation induction involves taking medication to induce ovulation by encouraging eggs to develop in the ovaries and be released, increasing the chance of conception through timed intercourse or artificial insemination.

Who is ovulation induction suitable for?

It is most suitable for women who are producing low levels of hormones for ovulation or who are not ovulating at all but have normal fallopian tubes and the male partner has a normal semen analysis.

Clomiphene treatment

Clomiphene citrate was the original ‘fertility pill’. It is still widely used and is the most ‘natural’ scientifically proven fertility treatment – no injections - and you still have sex to become pregnant. Clomiphene is mainly used for two groups of people:

Letrozole treatment

Letrozole is a new alternative for women who don’t ovulate or have irregular cycles. Overall, about 20-30% of women aged 37 and under have a child over a course of up to 3-4 cycles of Clomiphene or Letrozole.

There is a slightly increased chance of twins, which can be reduced to around 5–10% by checking the body’s response to the medication using a blood test or an ultrasound scan.