Fertility test : How does checking your fertility work ?

When a woman has difficulties conceiving a child, it is sometimes necessary to have a fertility test. This test then goes through various medical examinations. Let’s see when you should worry about fertility, how a fertility test works and what tests can be used to make a diagnosis.

When should you worry?

Before you worry, it is important to differentiate infertility – which refer to the difficulty in conceiving a child for which medical solutions exist – and infertility, which is the total inability to procreate.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has defined the infertility criterion after 12 months of unsuccessful trials with unprotected and regular sexual intercourse. For this reason, a doctor will only start medical research after this period.

If you are over 35 years old, this period will be reduced to 6 months, because it is from this age that fertility begins to decline. The chances of pregnancy are 25% in each menstrual cycle for a 25-year-old woman, and only 15% for a 35-year-old woman. Depending on your age and situation, your doctor or gynaecologist may suggest a fertility test to assess your condition.

First step of the fertility test

It consists of consulting your doctor or gynaecologist who will conduct an interview and clinical examination to decide whether or not a fertility test is necessary.

By knowing the medical and surgical history of both you and your partner, the clinical examination may reveal possible anomalies, explaining the difficulties in conceiving. But they will need be combined with additional tests to be confirmed.

The interview will consist of multiple questions to complete the clinical examination and detect possible risk factors for infertility.

These factors can include stress, excess weight, smoking – the number one enemy of female and male fertility – eating disorders, sleep disorders and psycho-sexual difficulties, or endocrine disruption.

Véronique Bied Damon, gynaecologist, endocrinologist and specialist in reproductive medicine explains that “endocrine disrupters, pollution, and physical and psychological environmental factors can have consequences on fertility, but also on your children.” So that’s what the doctor will observe in the first place.

Second step in making the diagnosis

Depending on the results of the first consultation, the doctor or gynaecologist may decide to investigate further and therefore carry out a fertility test to find out if your ovaries are functioning, if your genital system allows the egg and sperm to meet, and if your partner’s sperm contains enough healthy sperm to reach and fertilize the ovum.

This fertility test then consists of different medical examinations that will answer all these questions. First of all : hormonal evaluation, which indicate the working capacity of the ovaries; then an ultrasound count of the egg supply, which reveals any defective ovarian function. Finally, radiography of the uterine cavity and fallopian tubes – called hysterosalpingography – that makes it possible to verify that the genital tract is correctly permeable and favourable to the encounter of the oocyte and spermatozoa.

Your partner can also perform a spermogram to check the number and mobility of the sperm cells. Because, let’s not forget that his fertility is just as important as yours!

Following these examinations, the diagnosis of infertility may be made and medical responses, such as medically assisted reproduction, may be considered.

Practice fertility tests without a doctor

We have seen that it is very important to prepare your body for pregnancy in order to get pregnant and avoid any complications. Before considering medical assistance, be aware that there are softer methods to test your fertility. The MyBubelly method offers fertility self-tests such as ovulation monitoring, while bringing support through the journey to motherhood. This coaching allows you to act on external factors and limit the disruptions that can prevent you from getting pregnant. With a little rigor, and adapted psychological support, you can maximize your chances of conception and even increase your chances of having a girl or a boy, depending on your choice.