Anti-Mullerian Hormone
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a hormone released by small follicles within a woman’s ovaries. A follicle is a fluid-filled sac that contains an immature egg. During a menstrual cycle these follicles mature to release an egg during ovulation. The AMH blood test is a great indicator of your fertility status as it gives us a guide to the number of eggs left in your ovary.
AMH can be tested at any stage in a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Early Cycle Blood Tests
FSH, LH and Oestradiol are hormones measured by a blood test on Day 2 to 5 of the menstrual cycle. These hormones stimulate the follicles within the ovaries to grow and mature eggs.
Late Cycle blood tests
Progesterone hormone levels are usually checked on day 21 of your cycle to confirm if you have ovulated in this cycle. For women with longer cycles than 28 days these hormones are measured 7 days before the onset of your next period. For instance, if your cycle lasts 35 days we would check these hormones on day 28 of your cycle.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder that causes a woman’s eggs to remain immature, among other symptoms related to the imbalance of hormones, such as acne, hair growth, weight gain and irregular or absent periods. Both early cycle FSH and LH and their ratio and the level of AMH can be diagnostic for PCOS. Furthermore, other hormone profiles such as testosterone, SHBG and Free Androgen Index can be abnormal in the face of PCOS and are therefore routinely tested in any fertility work up investigations.
Prolactin Levels
Prolactin is an important hormone that can affect your fertility. High levels of Prolactin may cause infertility. High prolactin levels inhibit secretion of the FSH hormone responsible for maturing follicles that grow eggs. Therefore, women with elevated prolactin levels often will not ovulate.
Other Blood tests
We routinely check for general health such as B12 folate, thyroid hormone, antibody screen as well as routine bloods like FBC, kidney, liver, cholesterol iron levels and ferritin stores as well as rubella titres in women.
Cervical smears
We encourage women to have up to date cervical smears.