Insemination, which means the injecting of sperms into the female reproductive organ, takes place during the mating of a male and a female. However, in recent years different methods of artificial insemination have been developed by which not only females in the animals but also the women’s ova can be fertilized by such artificial methods. Do you know how the artificial insemination is done?
Artificial insemination is done by taking sperm of a prized animal and injecting it into the reproductive organs of a female animal. This method is used to improve the breed of animals like cows. The method is that the sperm of a prized ox is taken and introduced into the reproductive organ of a cow. This fertilizes the cow. It helps impregnate far more cows in less time than possible with natural insemination. Thus this process of artificial insemination is very useful in increasing the number of livestock of a better breed.
Artificial insemination is being used for conception in women also. With this method of artificial insemination a woman can conceive if the husband is sterile or cannot produce sufficient amount of semen. So, semen is obtained from another person and injected with a syringe at the mouth of the womb of the woman. There are however, various methods by which babies can be conceived outside of the mother’s body and can be artificially carried out in a laboratory. These children are usually known as ‘test-tube’ babies and the technique is called I.V.P. (In Vitro Fertilization). The world’s first test-tube baby was born on 25 July 1978 in Oldham General Hospital, USA.