 of semen is placed at the cervix for an hour Credit: Béa Fertility The NHS currently only funds IVF and intrauterine insemination (IUI) for couples who are struggling to conceive. IVF involves fertilising an egg in a laboratory before inserting it into the woman's womb to grow, while IUI involves inserting sperm directing into a woman's womb. If couples in England and Wales are hoping for fertility treatment on the NHS, they will be considered against a set of criteria, with eligibility and wait lists varying greatly between areas. But the new treatment developed by Béa Fertility hopes to cut through barriers, with a focus on people traditionally excluded from free fertility treatments, including same-sex couples and single women. The at-home treatment is called intracervical insemination (ICI) and has been shown to be 50 per cent effective over six cycles of treatment . IVF, comparatively, is 27 per cent successful for women aged 35 to 37 years old, and 32 per cent successful for women under the age of 35. ICI involves placing a small cap of semen at the cervix (neck of the womb) using an applicator, meaning you do not need to have sex in order to use it. The cap is left in place for an hour, during which time women can go about their day as normal, and the sperm is more easily able to travel towards the egg for fertilisation. Two weeks later, users test for pregnancy. The kit has a number of benefits, including that it doesn't involve clinic visits, hormones, invasive injections or medicines. IVF users need a number of injections, patches and pills to boost fertility, which){kind=link}
DIY at-home insemination kits claiming to be twice as effective as IVF will be trialled on the NHS.
Priced at £700, the kits are 20 times cheaper than in vitro fertilisation and open the doors to more couples hoping to start a family.
The NHS currently only funds IVF and intrauterine insemination (IUI) for couples who are struggling to conceive.
IVF involves fertilising an egg in a laboratory before inserting it into the woman’s womb to grow, while IUI involves inserting sperm directing into a woman’s womb.
If couples in England and Wales are hoping for fertility treatment on the NHS, they will be considered against a set of criteria, with eligibility and wait lists varying greatly between areas.