Written by: Dr. Mark Severino, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
Medical Director
The Treatment of infertility can be an emotional and financial struggle for many couples. Over the years, physicians have tried to evaluate a couple’s fertility treatment success prior to undergoing treatment in the effort to reduce their stress and give them a true sense of the probability of achieving pregnancy.
The ability to test for anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) has been a huge advancement to predict a woman’s response to medication. It is a good indication that good quality eggs can be produced prior to beginning infertility treatment. AMH is produced by the cells surrounding the egg and can be tested at any time during a woman’s cycle. Advantages to using the AMH test are: 1) the hormone level doesn’t change much from cycle to cycle, and 2) it allows for young women that want to delay having children as it is prognostic of their ovarian function and can predict early ovarian problems better than other, more commonly used tests.
It is well known that a woman’s fertility declines as they age. Some older women falsely believe that their egg quality is still good because they are still having regular periods. Testing for AMH every 6 months will give these women an evaluation of their ovarian function and help to predict their response to ovarian stimulation and good egg production. A level of 0.7 ng/ml or greater is indicative of normal reproductive function.
