Fertility MOT tests that tell women if they’re infertile ‘DON’T work and are a waste of money’
OVARIAN reserve tests that claim to tell worried women if they have left it too late to have a baby may be a waste of money, a study suggests.
Clinics charge a few hundred pounds for the “fertility MOTs”, which are designed to tell women how many eggs they have left and their quality.
But researchers from the University of North Carolina found the results had no bearing on whether patients went on to conceive.
They examined data on 750 women aged 30 to 44 years without a history of infertility who had been trying to conceive for three months or less.
The tests used in the UK commonly analyse the amount of hormones, known as AMH and FSH, in blood or urine.
But the scientists found low AMH or high FSH had no bearing on the chance of a woman falling pregnant within any given month.
And they did not lead to a lower chance of conceiving after six or 12 months.
Study leader Dr Anne Steiner said: “Biomarkers indicating diminished ovarian reserve compared with normal ovarian reserve were not associated with reduced fertility.
“These findings do not support the use of urinary or blood follicle-stimulating hormone tests or antimullerian hormone levels to assess natural fertility for women with these characteristics.”
Professor Richard Anderson, from the University of Edinburgh, said: “Many more women are concerned about having their first child when older than was the case for previous generations, leading to pressure to seek ‘fertility tests’.
“This paper shows that we do not have such a thing.
“The most important test is whether a woman is ovulating, i.e. whether she is releasing an egg every month, rather than how many eggs she might have in reserve.”
Stuart Lavery, consultant gynaecologist at Hammersmith Hospital, said: “The researchers have done women a great service in helping them avoid unnecessary cost and incorrect judgements around their natural fertility.”
Dr Channa Jayasena, from Imperial College London, said: “Women in their 30s and 40s are often anxious about their future chances of having a baby.
“Hormone levels change with time, so taking a snapshot today tells us very little about what women's fertility will be like tomorrow.
“This study tells us that measuring these hormones to predict fertility in potentially worried and vulnerable women is wrong, and should be stopped.”
Professor Adam Balen, from the British Fertility Society, said: “The key thing about this research is that it’s on women who don’t have fertility problems and have only just started trying to conceive.
“Fertility does decline as both men and particularly women get older.
“If you start trying for a baby and think there may be problems, or if you’ve been trying for a year without success, don’t delay before seeking advice from a fertility specialist.
“They will then guide you to the appropriate tests that are right for your personal situation.”
The findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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