Tim and Gwen Walz Used the Fertility Treatment IUI to Conceive — Here's How It's Different from IVF

• Intrauterine insemination (IUI) has made headlines since Tim Walz revealed that he and his wife Gwen relied on the procedure to build their family
• An expert explains to PEOPLE how the process differs from in vitro fertilization (IVF)
• Although IUI — commonly called “artificial insemination” — has a lower success rate, it’s a simpler procedure that requires fewer visits to the doctor’s office

Intrauterine insemination — commonly called IUI — has made headlines since Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz revealed that he and his wife, Gwen, relied on the procedure to have daughter Hope, 23, and son Gus, 17.

But what exactly is IUI – and how does it differ from IVF?

As Dr. Shaun Williams, a reproductive endocrinologist at Illume Fertility, tells PEOPLE, IUI involves physically placing the sperm closer to the egg to increase the chances of fertilization.

“We concentrate as much sperm as possible from a normal semen sample and put that sperm in high concentrations all the way up to the top of the uterus.”

A picture of a sperm finding its way to an egg.

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“It’s a very simple procedure that just involves bringing the cervix into view — like a regular Pap smear — and passing a tiny, flexible tube through the cervix and then placing the sperm higher up in the reproductive tract,” Williams tells PEOPLE.

In short, he says, “intrauterine insemination definitely gets more sperm to where the eggs are.”

Women are given drugs to produce more eggs, he explains, and “insemination helps deliver more sperm to where those eggs are.”

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The procedure may be “necessary if we’re dealing with mild male factor problems, such as low sperm count or reduced sperm motility, where there are still a good number of sperm being produced—but not very many sperm are able to simply swim where they should naturally be. ”

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“If someone has unexplained infertility, which represents maybe 25 to 30% of the couples we see [who] don’t have an identifiable cause of their infertility, then we use intrauterine insemination with medication for the woman for a higher probability of success per month of treatment,” he says, adding that it is also useful for endometriosis patients.

The procedure used to be colloquially known as “artificial insemination,” and according to Williams, who is board-certified in obstetrics, gynecology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, “some insurance policies, when they say what they cover, say they will cover artificial insemination.” insemination or IUI.”

But, she tells PEOPLE, “The reproductive field has never really used it as a treatment term.”

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He adds that some insurance companies will require people to try IUI, a “cheaper treatment option” before moving on to “more aggressive treatment.”

The next step would be in vitro fertilization – or IVF. And the process, Williams tells PEOPLE, is profoundly different.

Image of a doctor examining a sample under a microscope.

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At the beginning of a woman’s menstrual cycle, Williams explains, they are given “follicle-stimulating hormone” for about 12 days.

The process involves injections once or twice a day along with frequent visits to the doctor’s office for ultrasounds to monitor the growth of these follicles because “sometimes with IVF we have to adjust the medication from one day to the next.”

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The eggs are then retrieved and fertilized in the laboratory, either with the partner’s sperm or, as is often the case with same-sex couples, with donor sperm.

“We can control all the steps more completely with IVF,” he says. “And then, after we fertilize the eggs, we can watch the development of those embryos in the lab for several days to select the best embryo from that group — because the best embryo is the one that grows the fastest.”

Stock image of a newborn.

Getty

In addition to IVF, Williams says doctors can also do additional testing for chromosomal abnormalities that could “lead to miscarriage.”

While, “IVF works a lot better than just insemination,” Williams tells PEOPLE, “when we do intrauterine insemination, it’s really a much easier cycle of treatment with a lot less [doctor’s] visit.”

Overall, she says that “infertility is often something that couples don’t talk about openly and freely. I think a lot of couples realize that when they open up about it, they find that it’s a very common problem that couples face and that we have very good treatments.”

“We hope all couples will take advantage of it [these treatments],” she tells PEOPLE, “because they’re safe and help couples achieve those family-building goals.”

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Source: HIS Education