Ovulation stimulationThe first step for many couples is a course of drugs to help stimulate and regularise ovulation as at least 20 per cent of all women attending infertility clinics have an ovulation problem. Clomiphene citrate (brand names are Clomid and Serophene) is a synthetic drug taken in tablet form, usually once a day between Days 2 and 6 of the woman’s cycle, with the aim of stimulating her ovaries into ovulation. The lowest dose given is 50mg. Your doctor may increase this (occasionally up to 200mg) if lower doses don’t work within a couple of months. It is recommended that most women do not stay on the treatment for longer than six months. If it hasn’t worked by then, the chances are low that it will, and there are health risks implicated in longer treatment. For many women, a course of clomiphene seems like a miracle cure as it ‘kick-starts’ the ovaries into regular ovulation and intercourse at the most fertile time of the cycle is more likely to result in a pregnancy. However, the treatment does not work for all women and there are some side effects:
Because it stimulates the ovaries, a woman may produce more than one egg in each cycle, which can result in a pregnancy of twins (or, rarely, more). While a multiple pregnancy occurs for only about one in 15 women who conceive while taking clomiphene, it is something to consider before beginning treatment.
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