Young woman questioning.
Timed Intercourse is one of the least invasive ways we use to help couples become pregnant. We can do cycles with or without medication. A medicated cycle is good for women who have trouble ovulating, PCOS, or are starting to work with a fertility clinic. Often timed intercourse is all a couple needs to become pregnant with a viable baby.
We can stimulate the ovaries, monitor growth, induce ovulation, and send you home to finish the act during your most fertile days.
Rather than just trying to hit your most fertile days alone with your partner, you have a team of medical experts confirming the timing is right with ultrasounds. Monitoring egg growth and ovulation can be a game changer and drastically improve your chances.
While cycles are customized to individual needs, here are the steps for a medicated cycle:
Period Start Date
Medication and cycles are based on Day 1 which is your first day of full flow.
Baseline Ultrasound
At some point, you’ll have an ultrasound to look for any abnormalities in your uterus or on your ovaries.
Semen Analysis
Early on your partner will need to have an analysis completed. This process relies on semen functioning so you will want to know the quality before proceeding with timed intercourse. If there are issues with semen, another method, like IUI where semen can be washed and concentrated, can be used.
Day 5
If medication is being used, you’ll start usually about day five. Fertility medication can help stimulate egg production which will increase your chances of success. Medication may be a pill or in an injectable form. Oral medication is usually taken for 5 days and injectable medication is typically taken for 8-12 days based on how your ovaries respond. Your doctor will create a custom medication schedule tailored to you.
Day 12
Your team will monitor your progress, performing an ultrasound and bloodwork to track egg production. It is likely you’ll need more than one appointment to monitor your progress. Also, if too many eggs are developing, your cycle may be cancelled to avoid the high risk of multiples. Pregnancies of two or more are considered high risk to the mother, as well as the fetuses. So guidance given to wait a cycle to try again, should be heeded.
Trigger Shot
The trigger shot causes ovulation within 36-42 hours. The shot contains human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone that signals the follicles to rupture and release an egg.
Timed Intercourse
After the trigger shot is given, the couple is instructed to have sex daily to every other day for three days in the privacy of their home.
Progesterone Test
About a week later, your clinic will do a blood test to confirm ovulation occurred. And if your progesterone levels are low, you’ll be prescribed a supplement. Progesterone helps the endometrial lining or ‘nest’ of the uterus develop and supports the embryo attaching to the uterus.
Pregnancy Test
Two weeks after ovulation, you may take a pregnancy test. You must wait a full two weeks, especially if you’ve had a trigger shot as that may cause a false positive.
If a cycle is unsuccessful, you might try another cycle with adjusted medication. Your doctors can learn a lot about how you respond to medication and get closer to helping you conceive by this process, so all is not lost. If you are unsuccessful with this process three times, discuss with your physicians upping your next treatment. Next steps may include IUI or IVF based on your individual diagnosis.
