Fertility Assessment
Who should test their Fertility?
You may be single and have concerns about your fertility health or in a relationship and actively trying to get pregnant or thinking about trying to conceive in the near future but are unsure about your fertility. No matter what your individual circumstances, a fertility test can be performed to help you better understand how fertile you actually are.
What is a Fertility Test?
A fertility test at CRM London allows couples, single men or women to visit the clinic for one appointment where specific tests, will allow us to provide an assessment of your fertility. The assessment will identify any potential problems and also help you to decide whether to try for a baby straight away, or potentially leave it till later.
The fertility assessment will provide an insight into your fertility health from a range of tests which evaluate your lifestyle and other health issues. A full explanation of these results will be given and their bearing on your fertility health discussed. These tests are not intended as a replacement for the more thorough medical diagnostic tests which may be recommended once the findings of the fertility assessment are known.
At The Fertility Clinic
Once you have met the consultant for a brief chat to review your medical history and lifestyle there are some basic tests which will be performed to test your fertility.
For women, the tests can include:
• Blood tests to check for levels of hormones. AMH stands for anti-mullerian hormone, the level of this within the blood provides an estimate of the ovarian reserve of a woman. With this information we could establish whether you could defer trying for a baby for a few years of whether the reproductive health is reduced to the extent you should not delay if your circumstances permit it.
• A 3-dimensional ultrasound scan to check the ovaries and womb (uterus). If the ultrasound scan does highlight any problems or abnormalities further diagnostic tests will be required to identify the cause and extent of any potential problem.
Additional tests can be performed if the specialist believes they are necessary. All costs will be discussed with you before proceeding with these and they may require you to come back on another day:
• Chlamydia Testing (Urine Test). Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the UK and affects both males and females. Chlamydia can cause significant damage to the Fallopian tubes in females if left untreated.
• Rubella Screening (Blood Test). Rubella is an infectious disease that in most cases presents as a mild condition and an infection often passes unnoticed. The disease does not affect your ability to conceive but it can be serious in pregnant women as it can harm the unborn baby. If the blood test indicates that you are not immune to Rubella then it is would be a strong recommendation to stop trying to conceive until you have been vaccinated against the Rubella.
• Sonohysterogram. This test will check that the cavity of the uterus is normal, it reveals if there are any lesions on the lining of the womb or polyps, fibroids in the cavity; it requires a injection of sterile saline into the cavity of the uterus
• HyCoSy (Ultrasound). This test will check whether your fallopian tubes are open and working properly. This test requires that a special dye is injected through the cervix in the womb and subsequently through the fallopian tubes. It is a minimally invasive procedure and provides valuable information about the fallopian tubes and your uterine cavity.
For men, the basic fertility tests include:
• A semen analysis test to measure the quantity and quality of your sperm. If the sperm count is either very low or there is no sperm seen then we would recommend the test to be repeated within 3 months.
If the semen analysis result is poor some further tests could be recommended:
• DNA Fragmentation Testing. Abnormal sperm DNA fragmentation is found in around 20-30% of men seeking fertility treatment, which is nearly ten times higher than that of the fertile population. It is also important to note that some men may have a normal semen analysis but an abnormal sperm DNA fragmentation result. This is because the two tests evaluate different aspects of sperm.
• Chlamydia Testing. Chlamydia affects 1 in 10 young males in the UK and infection can affect sperm function and male fertility. It is the most common cause of inflammation in the testicles and sperm-conducting tubes in men under the age of 35. If left untreated it can cause infertility.
To find out more about CRM London's Fertility Assessment, please contact us using the form below.
