Knowing your ovarian reserve is not only useful for those trying to get pregnant, but also for women who want to postpone motherhood and make informed decisions about their fertility in the future.
In this article, we explain what ovarian reserve is, why it’s important to know it, and how it can be evaluated through reliable medical tests. This information can be crucial for family planning or identifying potential fertility challenges early on.
Ovarian reserve refers to the number of eggs a woman has available in her ovaries at a given point in time. Unlike men, who continuously produce sperm throughout their lives, women are born with a finite number of eggs that gradually decrease over time.
This decline is progressive: around puberty, a woman has between 300,000 and 400,000 eggs, but only about 300 to 400 will actually ovulate over her reproductive lifespan. From age 35 onward, this ovarian reserve begins to decline more rapidly in both quantity and quality, directly affecting the chances of achieving a pregnancy.
Understanding your ovarian reserve gives you a clearer picture of your reproductive health and helps you make timely decisions. This is especially important if:
You’re considering having children in the future but want to postpone pregnancy.
You’ve been trying to conceive without success for several months.
You have a family history of early menopause or medical conditions like endometriosis.
You’re about to undergo medical treatments that may affect your fertility, such as chemotherapy or radiation.
Knowing your ovarian reserve can also help you decide if fertility preservation methods, such as egg freezing, are right for you.
There are several reliable medical tests to assess the status of your ovarian reserve. These can be performed at fertility centers or gynecological clinics equipped with the proper technology.
Some common tests include:
Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) test
Antral Follicle Count (AFC)
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) level test
Knowing your ovarian reserve gives you tools to manage your reproductive health. If test results show a diminished reserve, your fertility specialist can guide you through your options—whether it’s starting fertility treatment or considering egg cryopreservation if you wish to delay motherhood.
Even if you’re not planning to have children right away, having this information can help you avoid future challenges and bring peace of mind about your reproductive future.
If you have concerns about your fertility, it’s best to consult a gynecologist or fertility specialist. Our experts can guide you and provide additional information to keep you well informed.
At Advanced Fertility Center Cancun, our team of specialists is here to offer you the professional and compassionate care you deserve.
Now that we’ve shared a bit of information to help you understand how to know your ovarian reserve, we’d love to hear from you—what other questions or doubts do you have about Advanced Fertility Center Cancun that our medical team can address? Feel free to share them in the comments.
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