Ovulation Induction or Timed Intercourse

What is ovulation induction, or “timed intercourse”?

Ovulation induction, or sometimes referred to as timed intercourse, is a treatment which uses medications (pills or shots) to help your body produce more mature follicles, and ovulate more successfully.

These fertility medications stimulate follicle growth and development in the ovaries, encouraging ovulation. In case ovulation has already occurred, the injectable form of these fertility drugs can be administered to stimulate the release of multiple eggs.

The greater quantity of eggs leads to a higher probability of fertilization for at least one egg. However, you do have an increased risk of becoming pregnant with multiples. Our fertility clinic monitors ovulation induction patients carefully using simple techniques like ultrasounds to help minimize this risk.

When is timed intercourse recommended?

If fertility testing shows you are not ovulating properly, timed intercourse may be a recommended fertility treatment.

Pregnancy success rates of ovulation induction

The success rates for ovulation induction are generally low. Patients with conditions involving tubal factors and severe male fertility factors will not benefit from ovulation induction.

While this fertility treatment does work in the right circumstances, for many fertility challenges it is ultimately not as successful nor very cost-effective as compared to pursuing IVF treatment.