• Meera Bhavan, Kollam, Kerala
  • meerahridya1@rediffmail.com

Ovarian Reserve Tests and Its Role in Fertility Treatment

Ovarian Reserve Tests and Its Role in Fertility Treatment

Ovarian reserve means the number & quality of a female’s eggs remaining in her ovaries. This indicates her fertility potential! Let us discuss ovarian reserve tests and its role in fertility treatment.

 

Ovarian Reserve Testing

Ovarian reserve is best indicated by ovarian reserve testing. This happens to be the tests used by your healthcare provider to judge your fertility potential. This actually means that the results would be interpreted as a comparison to other females your age. Ovarian reserve testing, including the ovarian reserve blood test, measures the number of eggs you have using blood tests & vaginal ultrasound. You are actually born with all the eggs you will ever have in your entire life, and you will not produce any more eggs than these in your entire lifetime. This is called ovarian reserve. Ovarian reserve tends to decrease naturally with age, making understanding ovarian reserve by age essential. The results of an ovarian test can help in predicting how well you will respond to fertility treatments, like IVF. So, it is crucial to assess that an ovarian reserve test does not definitively determine your fertility. This means it cannot predict whether you will be able to conceive naturally or not. Your doctor will use the results, such as those from ovarian reserve test cost, to decide the next steps in your fertility treatment.

 

When to Do an Ovarian Reserve Test?

Your doctor may recommend ovarian reserve testing, such as ovarian reserve testing normal range, in the following cases:

  • You have a disease (like cancer) that may affect the number of eggs you have.
  • You are contemplating to undergo any fertility treatment such as IVF.

 

How to Know about Low Ovarian Reserve?

The only way to reveal low ovarian reserve symptoms is through a fertility test done by a skilled doctor. This will discuss whether your ovarian reserve is testing the normal range.

 

Which Is the Best Test for Ovarian Reserve?

An ovarian reserve test happens to be the indicator of the success of fertility treatment(s). It does not say anything about the quality of your eggs (or how healthy your eggs are) and it does not tell your doctor how many eggs you have. In ovarian reserve testing, blood tests are done to measure FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) & AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone). A transvaginal ultrasound also measures the number of AFCs (antral follicles). 

 

FSH

This happens to be a hormone that controls the growth of eggs in the ovaries. The pituitary gland (in the brain) releases FSH to grow follicles in the ovaries. Follicles are small fluid-filled sacs containing an egg. These follicles release oestrogen. This tells the pituitary gland to produce more or less FSH. Doctors measure FSH levels around the 3rd day of your menstrual cycle as part of the ovarian reserve test name.

 

AMH

This happens to be a hormone produced by follicles in the ovaries. Follicles contain eggs. This means that the higher your AMH levels are, the more eggs you are presumed to have. AMH levels reduce with age as the number of eggs also drops with age. Unlike FSH, AMH can be measured at any time during your menstrual cycle. AMH levels below 1 nanogram per millilitre (ng/ml) may mean that your egg production is diminishing, but it doesn’t signal your ability to conceive.

 

AFC

This happens to be a part of the ovarian reserve test performed by transvaginal ultrasound. This allows your doctor to count the number of follicles in your ovaries during an ovarian reserve test at home or a clinic-based test. Eggs develop inside follicles. Doctors tend to count follicles during the first four days of your menstrual cycle.

 

What Factors Affect Ovarian Reserve?

Many factors tend to affect ovarian reserve. Generally, your age is the biggest factor. You determine ovarian reserve by age. You are born with all the eggs you are ever going to have in your life. Some females are born with more eggs than others. By the time a teenager starts menstruating, millions of eggs have already been lost. During a typical menstrual cycle, several eggs develop, and they become the primary mature egg that is released during ovulation. So, your body releases one egg in one month, but thousands of eggs are lost per year. Another factor doctors consider is the quality of your eggs. Egg quality refers to the health of your eggs. Other factors that may cause a low egg count include the following:

  • Previous ovarian surgery or problems with one or both ovaries.
  • Chemotherapy/radiation therapy.
  • History of severe pelvic infection.
  • Family history of early menopause.

 

Are There Any Risks of Ovarian Reserve Testing?

No, there are no risks involved with ovarian reserve testing. It is a safe test that involves drawing blood from a vein in your arm and using a transvaginal ultrasound.

 

What Are the Limitations of Ovarian Reserve Testing?

This can provide insight into your response to fertility treatments, but it does not tell the whole story. It can give you a hint of the number of eggs you have, but it does not tell your doctor how healthy your eggs are. For example, a female may have normal ovarian reserve but low-quality eggs that do not fertilise during an IVF cycle. Research has shown that egg quality also diminishes after 35 years of age. There are other factors that affect fertility that are unrelated to the number or quality of eggs. Healthcare providers will perform an ovarian reserve test as part of a fertility evaluation to get an idea of the ​​overall fertility of their patient.

 

What Does the Result of the Test of Ovarian Reserve Mean?

Your ovarian reserve testing results help in predicting your fertility potential. It tells how well your body is going to respond to any fertility treatment(s). It does not tell you when you will conceive or exactly how many eggs are left, but it can suggest if your egg supply is lower than other females your age. No single fertility test can predict your capability of getting pregnant or responding to any fertility treatment. Results of all of your fertility tests, including ovarian reserve test, are analysed together. The healthcare provider uses all the tests’ results to make a treatment plan that is apt in your case.

 

How Accurate Are Ovarian Reserve Tests?

Infertility tests are diagnostic in nature, and they cannot accurately predict how many eggs you have, how long those eggs will remain fertile, or how long it will take until menopause. However, they happen to be the most accurate tools currently available to health care providers. Ovarian reserve testing is crucial during IVF treatment because the number of eggs as well as the body’s response to hormones are related to the success of ovarian stimulation.

 

Can Ovarian Reserve Be Increased?

No, you cannot add to the number of eggs you have. You are born with all the eggs you will ever lay. But you may be able to influence the quality of your eggs. You can follow the below mentioned lifestyle factors to improve your egg quality:

  • Eat nutritious foods.
  • Intake vitamins.
  • Get adequate sleep.
  • Quit smoking.
  • Limit alcohol intake.

 

Dr. Meera Is a Revered Fertility Expert in Kerala

Now you know a lot about ovarian reserve tests and its role in fertility treatment. It is time now to take action and consult a doctor on when to do ovarian reserve test if you need expert intervention. Doctor Meera happens to be a fertility specialist based in Kollam, Kerala. She is known for his expertise in various infertility-related issues. With years of experience & a compassionate approach, she has helped many couples achieve successful pregnancies.

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