Treatment of infertility

We carry out basic infertility examinations at the Reproductive Medicine Unit in Helsinki and at Hyvinkää, Lohja, Porvoo, and Raseborg Hospitals. We have centralized insemination, in vitro fertilization, treatments with donated gametes, and more demanding infertility treatments at the Reproductive Medicine Unit in Helsinki.

The maximum age when starting infertility treatments is 40 years for women and 60 years for men. In order for us to be able to provide the treatments, the referral must be received by us at least six months before the maximum ages are reached. The maximum body mass index (BMI) for infertility treatments for women is 35. Unfortunately, as a public service provider, we usually cannot treat post-sterilization infertility or couples who already have two children together. 

Before the first actual appointment, we perform hormone examinations and take a basic blood count for the woman wishing to become pregnant. In the case of a heterosexual couple, we also examine a sample of the man’s semen. We test both spouses for HIV and hepatitis. We always invite the couple to attend the first appointment together. We examine their health and survey their lifestyle habits, evaluate the woman’s menstrual cycle and perform any further examinations required.  We examine the fallopian tubes for blockages if necessary.

After these examinations, we devise a customized treatment plan. Please be aware that for as many as one in four couples the cause of infertility cannot be established.

Treatments can include:

• ​ovulation induction treatments designed to induce or strengthen ovulation
• inseminations, in which washed sperm is injected into a woman's uterine cavity at the time of ovulation
• in vitro fertilization (IVF/ICSI), where the ovum is fertilized in a laboratory and the embryo is transferred to the uterus to grow
• frozen embryo transplant, where an embryo generated by IVF/ICSI and then frozen is thawed and transferred to the uterus
• insemination or IVF/ICSI treatments with donated gametes
• surgical treatment for instance in situations where infertility is caused by endometriosis or myoma

If you have not already been trying for pregnancy for a long time, and if it seems probable that you will be able to get pregnant without any treatments, you may simply continue to wait for nature to take its course after the examinations.