Timed Intercourse
What is it?
Timed intercourse is quite a simple treatment, which aims to stimulate a woman’s fertility by means of certain medicines. After this stimulation, the couple is going to need to restrict sexual intercourses to a proper window of time that will raise the chances of fertilizing the egg cell.
This method works thanks to the stimulation of up to three ovary follicles by means of oral or injectable medications during a certain amount of time. These medicines must start to be taken at the beginning of the menstruation cycle, around the 2º or 3º day. Which and how much medication is applied depends on individual factors regarding each woman.
After being sure that this stimulation worked, the woman gets a shot of HCG hormone, which is the one that’s going to stimulate ovulation in a period ranging from 36 to 40 hours later. After that, the couple may have sexual intercourses during this time, in order to increase the chances of getting pregnant – that’s why we call it “timed intercourse”.
This technique was created back in the 60’s and has been in Brazil since the 70’s. This is considered one of the oldest human reproduction methods.
Whom should do it?
It is indicated to couples having less complex difficulties in both man and woman issues. We take into account the history of the patient, that is, the menstrual cycles that she describes specifying the length of her menstruation and the gap between her bleedings. After that, we can run hormone exams and evaluate the uterine tubes through hysterosalpingography and transvaginal ultrasonography. In addition, an evaluation of the semen is required regarding men.
It’s worth noting that some women with a history of unusual menstruations or presenting a polycystic ovary syndrome may not achieve the proper results due to a resistance to the medicines.