Women trying to conceive may choose to undergo various blood tests in order to better understand what’s happening inside their bodies. Some tests may be simple and painless while others more invasive – all are designed to provide invaluable information in order to help get pregnant faster.
Your physician will thoroughly explore your health history and lifestyle to provide personalized recommendations tailored specifically for you.
Hormones
Hormones act like messengers within your body, carrying special instructions directly to cells. If these messengers get out of balance, this could disrupt fertility levels for both men and women – whether caused by stress, poor diet, medications, etc.
Blood tests and ultrasounds can both help assess how hormone levels impact fertility. Your physician may advise testing for FSH or LH – two hormones responsible for egg development in females and sperm production by males respectively – while AMH (anti-mullerian hormone) testing measures women’s remaining egg supply; medication could have an impact on this number, so be sure to inform them.
Some experts are dubious of fertility hormone tests’ accuracy in gauging how many eggs remain in an individual’s ovaries, such as Anne Steiner who states they provide some insight into how well your ovaries are functioning but cannot predict pregnancy on their own.
If you’re trying to conceive, the most reliable means of testing are comprehensive visits with your fertility doctor. At these appointments, they should cover your medical history, birth control use, sexual history and lifestyle habits that could impact fertility. Your physician will perform pelvic exams and pap smears during this visit in order to detect abnormalities; additionally they may discuss any family histories that might contribute to problems with fertility as part of this visit.
Inflammation
Women attempting to conceive often find their bodies to be in an elevated state of hormonal activity, prompting a series of tests designed to determine if and when ovulation will take place. This may involve tracking body temperature or using a fertility monitor; blood tests or ultrasound imaging can also be conducted as part of this first fertility assessment test.
One fertility test measures how thick the lining of the uterus is during ovulation; an inadequate thickness could make it more difficult for an egg to implant and result in pregnancy. Other fertility tests include semen analysis and blood work – these assessments examine a woman’s overall health to detect hormone imbalances, vitamin deficiencies or inflammation as possible sources of infertility.
Reproductive specialists may order blood tests to detect issues with the ovary and uterus. These include an ESR to measure inflammation. C Reactive Protein, or CRP, provides more reliable data as its levels do not fluctuate with estrogen levels; an elevated CRP level could signal conditions like Lupus or other autoimmune rheumatic diseases which interfere with fertility.
Women experiencing difficulty ovulating may be suffering from hormone or egg supply issues, so it’s essential that they consult a fertility expert as soon as possible. A doctor can offer various solutions depending on the cause of infertility; some treatments, like laparoscopy or hysterosalpingogram may cause discomfort.
Vitamins & Minerals
Women’s fertility depends on healthy eggs being released by their ovaries and traveling down their reproductive tract to be combined with sperm in fallopian tubes for fertilisation. Fertility tests aim to identify any issues related to these steps or any others such as hormone imbalance or age related factors that reduce chances of pregnancy.
Female fertility tests typically consist of taking a blood sample to measure ovarian function and determine ovulation status, while an HSG or pelvic ultrasound exam checks uterine health as well as fallopian tubes condition. A semen analysis may be ordered for men to look out for any conditions like oxidative stress that could potentially harm sperm and increase the chances of infertility.
Other tests available to you could include an anti-mullerian hormone test (AMH) to measure your ovarian reserve; or serum prolactin level tests which help diagnose PCOS and endometriosis which both reduce female fertility.
Certain vitamins and minerals have been linked with fertility for both genders. Folic acid, for instance, is known to help prevent birth defects and is frequently recommended as part of preconception or pregnancy supplements for women. Meanwhile, for men dietary sources of Coenzyme Q10 antioxidant can improve motility, morphology and quality in sperm.
Overall Health
When it comes to female fertility tests, it is crucial that patients understand what to expect. They may undergo blood tests, ultrasounds and/or other invasive procedures – some can be simple while others more complex and painful; an HSG, for instance, which checks both fallopian tubes and uterus, may cause discomfort but must be completed to verify there are no issues in these structures.
Sperm counts are another popular procedure, which involve taking a small sample of mucous from the cervix and placing it on a slide for evaluation under a microscope. This test can reveal whether there is low sperm count or motility which could contribute to infertility.
Naturopathic physicians also commonly provide medications to address fertility issues, including cabergoline or bromocriptine for elevated prolactin, thyroid medication to correct an over- or underactive thyroid, insulin for diabetes and metformin to address polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Women trying to become pregnant for over a year without success should visit a naturopathic physician and fertility specialist, in addition to being seen for medical issues, for help in order to increase their chances of conception. Along with reviewing past and current lifestyle habits such as sexual history, medications used or supplements consumed. Sometimes these specialists may suggest lifestyle modifications which could increase chances of conception.
