| The rationale of ovulation induction for assisted reproduction techniques is to make women produce follicles which contain eggs during each treatment cycle.
Ovulation induction is indicated for women who do not ovulate regularly or for those who do not ovulate at all. It is routinely used for fertility treatment such as IUI (intrauterine insemination) and IVF (in vitro fertilisation).
There are different protocols, medication and dosage of medications that can be used for ovulation induction, which have to be tailored to each individual woman. It involves frequent ultrasound scans and sometimes blood test, to check the number and size of follicles to allow adjustment of the dose of the medications.
The main risk of ovulation induction is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), which although rare, occurs when a woman over responds to the ovulation induction medications. This risk can however be minimised through careful monitoring with ultrasound scans.
The other side effect of this medication is multiple pregnancies which is more with injectable drugs.
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