Fertility management is about looking at the needs of the woman, or couple. There are a few standard fertility tests which we’ll usually conduct, but our focus is on individualised care. Our first step is the you are contacted by our nurse who will organise the initial tests that you will require for your first appointment.
The initial fertility tests that give a good understanding of where we stand include:
- All the blood tests that would routinely be done at the start of pregnancy. This includes checking your rubella, and chicken pox vaccination. In addition, we’ll check thyroid, anaemia levels and general blood tests.
- Hormone levels to see where they should be. This is done at the start of the cycle and then again later to confirm ovulation.
- In many cases, we will check your AMH or ovarian reserve (also known as the egg timer test). This is reassuring to confirm you are not running out of eggs.
- For the male partner, we usually organise a semen analysis as fertility requires both eggs and sperm.
This is usually a broad base on which to further investigate why you are not falling pregnant.
Advances in reproductive medicine have given us a great advantage. We can test before pregnancy and, if any results are abnormal, we can treat issues before commencing fertility treatment.
Your results and desired outcome will help determine the next steps.
We all like to think that when the time is right falling pregnant will just happen. However there can be many factors that affect your fertility. From your very first fertility consultation Dr Michael Flynn will start giving you the answers you need.
Read More about Fertility Tests:
Pelvic Assessment
AMH Test
Sperm Test
Preconception Screening