What is AMH?
It is critical for women to grasp the foundations of female fertility before we discuss what an AMH test is.
All of the eggs a woman will ever have been given to her at birth.
Each of us is born with 1-2 million eggs.
By the time we reach puberty, more than half of our eggs have disintegrated (sounds alarming, but this is normal).
Each month, 800,000 eggs die naturally, but only one makes it to the finish line (ovulation). If it’s fertilised, you’ll get a period; if it’s not, you’ll get a period. This happens every month, though you may not be ovulating or receiving a period if you’re on hormonal birth control (such as the pill).
AMH typically peaks around the age of 25, after which it (along with egg count) begins to steadily fall. Our ovarian reserve decline becomes more rapid around and over the age of 35.
Egg count and AMH levels decline to undetectable levels by menopause.
Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is one of the measures of ovarian reserve, or the quantity of eggs in your ovaries. Granulosa cells in your ovarian follicles — the small sacs in your ovaries that contain and release eggs — create AMH.
Low AMH levels are commonly thought to indicate a lack of ovarian reserve. It’s natural for a woman’s AMH levels to drop as she gets older, and this can be a symptom of premature fertility loss in younger women.
What does AMH have to do with your fertility?
AMH is an important fertility test that tells us about a woman’s current ovarian reserve. Higher AMH readings usually indicate that a woman’s ovarian reserve is normal. Lower readings could suggest a woman’s ovarian reserve is diminished.
We know that a woman’s fertility reduces as she ages, therefore AMH readings normally begin to decline as well. The benefit of this test is that if a woman has a low AMH, she can take steps to improve her fertility now if she wants to start a family in the future.
Why should you undergo an AMH test?
It is essential to understand your fertility when planning your family. While your AMH level isn’t a crystal ball into your fertility future — that is, it isn’t a predictor of your ability to conceive today or at a specific time in the future — it does provide you with additional information about your reproductive health, such as:
- Your ovarian reserve
- Egg freezing
- In-vitro fertilisation (ivf) outcomes
- Menopause timing
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (pcos)
- Premature ovarian in (POI)
Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is one of the best predictors of ovarian reserve, or the quantity of eggs in your ovaries.
Why is it important to know about our ovarian reserve?
Women with lower AMH levels for their age are more likely to have a shorter reproductive window than women with normal AMH levels. It can also assist in establishing reasonable expectations for the quantity of eggs that can be retrieved. It can also predict how you’ll react to medicine if you decide to go ahead with IVF for infertility or egg freezing.
When looking at your AMH test results, keep in mind that even if they’re normal, you could still have reproductive troubles because age, along with many other factors, plays a large impact. Aside from your ovarian reserve, the quality of your eggs is another important factor to consider. Because there is no test for egg quality, the best prediction we have is age.
What AMH is not:
A predictor of a woman’s ability to become pregnant on her own in the future.
Because it only takes one healthy egg (and one healthy sperm!) to have a baby, having a low ovarian reserve doesn’t mean you won’t be able to conceive. However, understanding how AMH affects the female reproductive system and why your reproductive years may be shorter than you think is important.
Can you increase AMH levels?
Low AMH is predicted and will happen to everyone with ovaries when their AMH levels decline as they get older. But what if you’re younger and have low AMH?
There is no recognised “cure” for low AMH levels at the moment, however various strategies for boosting levels are being researched.
It’s important to remember, too, that even if increasing AMH levels were found to be achievable, it wouldn’t stop egg loss – once an egg is gone, it’s gone.
Should I get an AMH test?
We believe that women should be educated about their fertility so that they can make informed decisions about their health. Knowing what your ovarian reserve looks like at any given time and, once you have that information, deciding what, if anything, you want to do about it is one part of that education.
AMH results might help you decide if you want to take immediate action to improve your fertility. Remember that AMH will inform you what your current ovarian reserve is. They have no way of knowing how quickly your ovarian reserve will deteriorate in the future, or if you will be able to conceive on your own. Women will only be able to make informed decisions regarding their health when they are fully informed!
Is there anything I can do to prepare for the test?
An AMH test does not require any additional preparation.
Is there any risk in taking the test?
Having a blood test carries relatively little risk. There may be some discomfort or bruising where the needle was inserted, but most symptoms fade rapidly.
Allowing your resistance to triumph is a recipe for disaster. It’s time to obtain your AMH test, enhance your fertility, and give birth to a healthy baby. Contacting a fertility doctor is the most effective strategy to boost your fertility.
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