- For artificial insemination to be successful, the semen transfer must be made during a woman's fertile period. That is to say that there needs to be an egg available to fertilize or else close to being released, otherwise the sperm will have no target. Fertility can be monitored using devices such as ovulation predictor kits, saliva microscopes or by charting temperatures and cervical changes. Ideally, insemination should occur a day or slightly more before an egg is released, so the sperm has time to swim to the fallopian tubes and be waiting for the ovarian eruption. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, sperm can survive for up to six days in a fertile environment; however, a woman's egg dies within 24 hours of release if it is not fertilized.
- All a person needs to complete a "turkey baster" insemination is fresh semen to transfer and a device to deliver it as close to the cervix as possible. Sterilized medicine dispensers or needleless syringes work well. The semen can be acquired via donation, retrieved from a sperm bank or provided by a mate. It can be collected in a clean cup or plastic baggie and should not be allowed to dry out before the transfer. According to a report on BabyHopes.com, 2 ml of semen or more is considered normal from a single ejaculation. Anything less may not provide enough viable sperm to survive the trip to the fallopian tubes. Once the semen is drawn into the syringe and excess air carefully tapped out, a woman should lay prone with legs propped up or on her side to inject the fluid into her vagina. The semen needs to be inserted close to the cervix, but not into it, so as not to introduce infection. It takes less than a half hour for sperm to make it to the fallopian tubes, so that is how long a woman should remain in the insemination position to help the sperm work against gravity.
- It is normal for some of the seminal liquid to drip out after returning to an upright, standing position. Semen forms a clot in the vagina and then liquefies after sperm has mobilized up to the cervix. Multiple inseminations during a woman's fertile period will increase the amount of viable sperm present in the reproductive tract and boost the chances of successful conception. If only one insemination must be made, it should be done ideally the day before ovulation as indicated on an ovulation predictor kit or other prediction methods.
