A woman experiencing infertility may be offered medications to help her to ovulate. These medications can be used to initiate ovulation or to enhance ovulation. The most common medication that is used initially is Clomiphene Citrate, commonly called Clomid.

Clomiphene Citrate

Clomid is taken orally days 3 - 7 of a woman's cycle. When using clomid, an increased pregnancy rate can be achieved if it is coupled with intrauterine insemination at time of ovulation. There are some studies that suggest that if clomid is used more than 11 life time cycles, it could put the woman at risk for ovarian cancer. We recommend 2 to 4 well monitered clomid cycles. If the couple does not achieve pregnancy, she should move on to gonadotropins.

Gonadotropins

Gonadotropins are another class of medication used for ovulation induction. These are injectable medications that a woman takes at home. These injections will ideally cause the woman to produce more than one egg per cycle. When using these medications , intrauterine insemination or in-vitro insemination is recommended. The most common risk with this group of medications is multiple births. The cycles are closely monitered with ultrasounds and hormone levels to try to decrease this risk.