A PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED, CROSS-OVER COMPARISON OF 2 METHODS OF ARTIFICIAL-INSEMINATION BY DONOR ON THE INCIDENCE OF CONCEPTION - INTRACERVICAL INSEMINATION BY STRAW VERSUS CERVICAL-CAP

In a prospective, randomized study of insemination with donor semen, i ntracervical insemination by straw was compared with insemination usin g a cervical cap with an intracervical reservoir, A total of 91 patien ts completed 486 treatment cycles, There were no significant differenc es in age, parity, indication for insemination by donor, or method of cycle monitoring between women who became pregnant and those who did n ot conceive with either insemination method, In 236 standard intracerv ical insemination cycles, 14 patients became pregnant (5.9% per cycle) , whereas 38 patients conceived in 250 cervical cap cycles (15.2% per cycle), Both the crude pregnancy rates and the cumulative pregnancy ra tes calculated by the Kaplan-Meier life-table method were significantl y different (chi(2)-test, P < 0.001, and log-rank test, P < 0.005 resp ectively), Pregnancy rates in artificial insemination with cryopreserv ed donor semen may be improved by the use of a cervical cap when compa red to cervical insemination by straw, The use of the cervical cap may prolong the exposure of the spermatozoa to the cervical mucus and pre vent the backflow of semen into the vagina.