{"id":30071,"date":"2025-12-22T16:32:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T16:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/?p=30071"},"modified":"2025-12-22T16:33:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T16:33:27","slug":"advancing-safer-smarter-iui-care-asrm-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/blog\/fertility-in-the-workplace\/advancing-safer-smarter-iui-care-asrm-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Advancing Safer, Smarter IUI Care: Reflections from ASRM 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Janet Choi, MD, Chief Medical Officer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASRM is one of my favorite annual gatherings because it’s a chance to reconnect with colleagues and friends, exchange ideas, and learn about the latest research shaping the evolution of reproductive endocrinology and infertility care. This year\u2019s conference in San Antonio was especially meaningful, as I co-authored a featured abstract exploring how a specialized Medical Advisory Board (MAB), working in collaboration with a benefit provider, can help promote evidence-based, best-practice fertility care\u2014specifically by advising on gonadotropin\/IUI criteria to support safety and optimized patient selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working alongside some of our Progyny network providers\u2014including lead author Keri Bergin, MD\u2014as well as Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York leaders including Alan Copperman, MD, and research lead and coordinator Joseph Lee, we examined how increased clinical review of IUI treatment requests might better optimize treatment selection and outcomes by reducing unnecessary risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does this matter?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Multiple-gestation pregnancies\u2014more common when gonadotropins are used\u2014carry disproportionate risks, including higher rates of pregnancy loss, preterm delivery, and extended NICU stays. These are outcomes every clinician and patient hopes to avoid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why applying a thoughtful, medically grounded review process before approving gonadotropin\/IUI cycles is so important. In our retrospective, two-year cohort study, our MAB of reproductive endocrinologists advised on shaping UM policy using ASRM and other peer-reviewed guidelines to ensure appropriate patient selection for requested treatment benefits. The actual reviews were conducted by a dedicated team of network REI providers and fertility nurses who apply these evidence-based criteria when evaluating requests. Gonadotropins can be an excellent option for many individuals on their fertility journey, but, as with any treatment, it\u2019s essential to identify who is most likely to benefit and who may face unnecessary risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our findings were encouraging: refining the criteria for gonadotropin\/IUI significantly reduced high-risk multiple-gestation pregnancies without compromising success rates. The multiple-gestation rate dropped from 10% of IUI pregnancies to 0%, while clinical pregnancy rates remained essentially unchanged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can watch our presentation video, where Dr. Bergin and I walk through our approach and findings in detail: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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