by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Pregnancy

If you?re trying to gauge your chances of getting pregnant naturally, using a fertility test to measure the number of eggs you have left won?t help, according to a new study.
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health recruited 750 women ages 30 through 44 who had been trying to conceive for 3 months or less and who had no history of fertility problems. They used urine and blood tests, or ?ovarian reserve? tests, to determine how many eggs the women had left in their ovaries. Then, they followed the women for a year to see who conceived.
The results: women whose test results indicated low egg levels were just as likely to conceive as women whose tests showed a plentiful egg supply. In other words, just because a test indicates a low ?ovarian reserve? doesn?t mean you won?t be able to get pregnant naturally.

Ovarian reserve tests measure levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) or follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which are indicators of egg quantity. Clinics often use these tests to determine how women will respond to fertility treatment, or to advise women on whether to freeze their eggs. You can also buy over-the-counter urine tests to measure ovarian reserve.
Lead researcher Dr. Anne Steiner said the tests are still useful for fertility treatment decisions. However, they don?t predict the likelihood of conceiving naturally, she told Reuters.
The study does have some limitations. It didn?t measure whether wome...