That is, follicle size matters for maturity. As of yesterday, I had three follicles: one at 19, one at 16, and one at 14.5. I have seen good research on follicle maturity by size in IVF conditions, where the oocytes will be retrieved, but I wondered: what's likely to be mature in IUI cycles with gonadatropins?
The first distinction is just that: size for gonadatropin injection cycles. Clomid cycles are a different ball game, and better outcomes are seen with larger follicle sizes. For injections, though, the best study I found is a fantastic 2005 article in Human Reproduction, looking at pregnancies attributable to different follicle sizes. Their focus was on preventing multiple gestations, but in evaluating that, they examined pregnancies attributable to specific follicle sizes on day of hcg trigger.
Human Reproduction, Volume 20, Issue 3, 1 March 2005, Pages 756–760,https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deh677
Fundamentally they found that pregnancies could be attributed to follicles 14 and up. Very few pregnancies were attributed to follicles of 14 and 15 mm. The majority were from follicles >16. This is a lower size than I'd have expected, so I find it quite interesting. That said, I know that on Quinn's cycle, I had two follicles, with the smaller one at 14, and both matured, based upon the presence of corpus luteum cysts later. On the twins' cycle, I had follicles at 22, 18, and 16, and the 16 did not mature, based on CL cysts.
A 2010 article in Fertility and Sterility found the highest pregnancy rates in cycles when 3 or more follicles were greater than 16 mm on the day of trigger, but this study didn't report on anything related to smaller follicles.
I'm still hoping we can get 3 mature this time, to maximize our chances.
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