Ovulation Induction

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Ovulation induction is a fertility treatment that uses medication to enhance your body's ability to grow and release eggs during ovulation. We may recommend ovulation induction in combination with timed intercourse or treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Timed Ovulation: Why Choose Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health?

At Penn Fertility Care - Lancaster General Health, you can expect:

Low-cost fertility drugs: As part of Lancaster General Health, a licensed hospital, we're able to offer fertility drugs at a much lower cost than standalone fertility centers. This benefit makes ovulation induction more affordable and accessible for many people.
Personalized care: We make sure you know what to expect during ovulation induction. Our team explains the process step-by-step, and we'll be by your side throughout treatment to answer your questions and address concerns.
Quality control: We track your follicle and egg development with blood tests and imaging exams, both conveniently available at our clinic. Fertility specialists adjust your medication dosage as needed. With careful monitoring, we reduce the risk of overstimulating your ovaries and optimize your chances of pregnancy.

How Does Ovulation Induction Work?

Ovulation induction (also called timed ovulation) uses fertility drugs to replicate a hormone your body naturally produces called follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). The medication can help your body produce more of the natural hormone. We may also deliver FSH directly to your ovaries. FSH triggers your ovarian follicles to grow and release an egg each month.

If you don't ovulate or have unexplained infertility, we may recommend "superovulation." You take higher doses of fertility drugs in order to ovulate several eggs each cycle instead of just one, increasing your chances of pregnancy through intercourse or IUI.

Ovulation induction allows us to control when eggs are released. So we know when timed intercourse, or treatments such as IUI, will be most likely to result in a pregnancy.

Is Ovulation Induction Right for Me?

We may recommend ovulation induction for women with:

Abnormal or irregular periods
Ovulation disorders
Polycystic ovary syndrome

What Are the Benefits of Ovulation Induction?

Benefits of ovulation induction include:

Increased chances of pregnancy through intercourse or IUI
Less expensive than IUI or IVF
Noninvasive fertility treatment

What Are the Potential Side Effects of Ovulation Induction?

During ovulation induction, some women experience:

Bloating
Fatigue
Headache
Mood swings
Nausea
Pelvic tenderness
Weight gain

What Ovulation Induction Medications Will I Take?

Your fertility care team will select the right medications for your needs. Clomiphene citrate, letrozole and gonadotropins are common drugs for inducing ovulation. You may take the medications as pills or injections. We'll show you how to give yourself injections at home.

What Can I Expect During the Ovulation Induction Process?

During ovulation induction, you can expect:

Medication: You start taking medication at the beginning of your cycle, a few days after your period begins.
Monitoring: We do an ultrasound to check follicle development a few days before your expected ovulation or trigger shot.
Trigger shot: You receive a gonadotropin injection when we determine your follicles are developed enough, usually about halfway through your cycle. This shot triggers the release of an egg.
Intercourse or treatment: Your provider will tell you how soon after your injection you should have intercourse. If you're having IUI or egg retrieval for IVF, we typically schedule these procedures 24 to 48 hours after your trigger shot.
Pregnancy test: Wait two weeks after intercourse, IUI or your embryo transfer procedure to take a pregnancy test.