When Should Women Consider Fertility Testing?

Pregnancy can come easy for some people, but not for others. You might be wondering about fertility tests if you and your partner have been trying to have a baby but haven’t achieved pregnancy yet. According to experts, if you are under the age of 35 and have had regular intercourse without birth control for 12 months, or above the age of 35 and have been trying for 6 months, you might need to get fertility testing done.

Other factors such as a family history of infertility, irregular menstrual cycles, problems with the fallopian tubes, uterus or the abdominal cavity such as adhesions or endometriosis may also warrant fertility testing.

What tests are used to diagnose female infertility?

There isn’t any particular test to diagnose infertility. At BirthRight Fertility by Rainbow, the best fertility and IVF centre in Hyderabad, various tests are performed to understand, assess and diagnose a woman’s fertility issues. By proper testing and understanding the causes, your doctor can help increase the chances of conception for a woman. At BirthRight Fertility by Rainbow, investigations offered for fertility testing include:

Medical history and overall assessment –
In the initial visit, fertility specialists will ask you questions regarding your overall health as well as sexual history. The first visit would lay down the groundwork for further testing and treatment.

Ovarian reserve test –
In this test, the number of potential eggs that a woman has in her ovaries are assessed. This test is recommended if a woman is at a high risk of having a depleted ovarian reserve, which is typically when she is 35 or older. Ovarian reserve tests may be done through blood tests or an ultrasound.

Hormone blood tests – To measure the hormone levels, blood tests would be performed during the menstrual cycle at different dates. Whether you are producing high-quality eggs and if proper hormonal signals are being sent to your ovaries by your brain can be determined with blood hormone tests. It is necessary to have balanced hormone levels for an egg to mature and for the ovaries to release that egg. Blood tests are performed for FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone), AMH (anti-Mullerian hormone) and estradiol.

Ultrasound imaging –
After the initial visit, your doctor might perform an ultrasound imaging test of your pelvic area to check for any issues such as cysts in the ovaries or an abnormal uterus, that might be affecting your fertility.

Sonohysterogram –
To get a clear image of the uterus, a sonohysterogram can be performed. In this test, the uterine cavity is filled with a saline solution and transvaginal ultrasound is used. This test can help diagnose irregular growths such as polyps or fibroids and uterine lesions.

Hysteroscopy –
In this test, a small camera is inserted into the cervix to view and diagnose fibroids and polyps if any. It is a minimally invasive surgery that can also be performed to repair a divided uterus, fibroids, polyps or scar tissue inside the uterine cavity if any.

Hysterosalpingogram –
In this test, a catheter containing dye is inserted into the cervix. The dye helps the structure of the fallopian tubes and uterus to be visible. With this test, blockage in the uterine cavity or fallopian tubes, such as fibroids and polyps or an unusually shaped uterus can be detected.

Laparoscopy –
A laparoscopy might be done to evaluate and treat endometriosis, remove ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids and scar tissue if any. It is a minimally invasive surgery wherein the doctor would make a small incision in the belly button and insert a camera and small instruments into the abdominal cavity through this incision.

You might not need all or even many of these tests before the cause of infertility is determined. Your doctor will recommend which of these tests need to be performed depending on your situation. If infertility is diagnosed, there are various other options through which pregnancy can be achieved such as IUI, IVF and ICSI. Although it may vary depending on certain factors, IVF cost in Hyderabad generally ranges between Rs. 1,50,000 and Rs. 1,75,000.

Should you get fertility testing before trying to conceive?
 

It is a given that a doctor's appointment is required once you discover that you are pregnant, but did you know that it is recommended to get fertility testing even before you try to achieve pregnancy? It may seem unnecessary but the information that you might discover from early fertility testing can help you get insight into your reproductive future and make plans accordingly. It can also help detect conditions such as PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) or endometriosis, that can affect fertility, so you can take early action.