Speculum Question
Question: A bit personal, but did any of you use a speculum during home inseminations? I have read lots of sites where women have used a speculum during home insemination. I could totally understand maybe using a speculum if a couple has tried for a few months and did not receive a BFP. But outside of that situation, using a speculum seems a bit clinical to me. I am curious though if others have done this and if it increased their chances tremendously.
Mommies In The Making 
I would think you’d definitely use a speculum if you were doing home IUI’s
I’m with Jessie. If our third IUI in the doc’s office hadn’t worked, we were going to do one at home and I had the speculums all ready to go. No need for ICI though.
We would be doing an ICI at home, not an IUI. We would only do an IUI by a doctor and not by ourselves.
We did many, many home inseminations without a speculum, but the time we succeeded, we used one. I’m not saying that was what resulted in our success, but I’m sure it helped. We were doing ICI, and it allowed my wife to get the goods right on my cervix. It definitely wasn’t the most romantic time (in fact, I’d say it was the least), and we had the speculum for several cycles before we used it. I’ve known plenty of people who have done ICI with frozen sperm who haven’t used a spec, and they did get pregnant.
I know when we were in your shoes, we wanted to make at least the first attempt a more romantic one, so if that’s what you’re hoping for, I’d leave the speculum out this time around and just have fun.
The speculum helped me hit the target. I had a flashlight in one hand and the syringe in the other, so no, not really romantic, but honestly it stopped being romantic after the first couple of tries. For many of us, TTC is clinical, but it doesn’t mean we don’t also have a romantic sex life.