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When you get married or settle down with a partner, this doesn’t mean you’ll automatically start trying for kids. Maybe you want to travel the world first. Maybe you’re focused on your career. Regardless of what it is, there are plenty of reasons why the modern-day woman chooses to postpone having kids.
But here’s the thing: even if you’re not intending to have kids in the next one or two years, it’ll still do you good to take a fertility test, so that you can assess your current situation. Read on to find out more!
#1: Find out your overall egg count
While men produce sperm continuously (for the most part!) through their life, women are born with a finite number of eggs, and our number of viable eggs steadily decreases as we get older.
Bearing this in mind, measuring your egg quantity (also known as “ovarian reserve”) will give you a better idea of your current situation. If you’ve got as many eggs as the average woman your age has (or more), that’s great news. But if you have fewer eggs than average, then you might want to try getting pregnant earlier, or adjust your lifestyle to make up for your lower egg count.
#2: Gauge when you’ll hit menopause
Ovarian reserve aside, you can also gauge when you’ll hit menopause when you undergo a fertility test.
As any woman in their 50s or 60s will tell you, menopause is not something to be taken lightly. Most women have a hard time dealing with the process – and if you can predict when you’re going to hit menopause, this gives you ample time to start preparing yourself for the hot flushes, chills, mood swings, and more.
PS: While most people assume that you’ll only hit menopause in your 50s or 60s, there are women who start having menopause in their 40s. If you’d like a heads up, go ahead and sit for a fertility test!
#3: Understand your options when it comes to fertility treatments
Amongst young couples who aren’t ready to have kids, the common perception is that you can always fall back on IVF if needed. That said, IVF isn’t a sure-fire thing, and it’s not wise to disregard your fertility while relying on IVF as a back-up plan.
For couples who want to learn more, taking a fertility test can help you get a better understanding of how much success you might achieve with IVF. How does it work? Your ob-gyn will test certain hormones such as AMH, FSH, and E2, and look at your hormone levels to predict your likely success rate in the case that you undergo IVF.
#4: Surface other conditions that you’ve missed out on
When you undergo a fertility test, this may surface other health issues that you were previously unaware of. Take thyroid conditions, for example.
Approximately five to 10% of the population suffers from a thyroid disorder, and according to experts, women are five times more likely to experience a thyroid disorder than men. Because early signs of a thyroid disorder aren’t obvious, many folks aren’t actually aware that they’re suffering from this disorder.
Want to err on the side of caution? When you undergo a fertility test, your ob-gyn can use certain hormones (such as TSH and T4) to measure your thyroid health. If your hormone levels are abnormal, they may recommend you to go for further testing.