Infertility Test

Motherhood is a wonderful feeling in itself. It is said that motherhood completes a woman. However, getting pregnant is not as easy as it sounds. Most of the women, in fact, do not get pregnant the first time and this is absolutely normal. But it is definitely frustrating to receive another ‘no’ after every pregnancy test. For a large number of women, it takes years to conceive. If a couple fails to get pregnant even after trying for a year, it is often labelled as infertility.

Infertility is surely embarrassing, but a very common problem in today’s world. This can drastically change the life that you have imagined for yourself. Infertility is not only limited to a physical problem, but it takes a toll on our emotional health as well. The increasing stress in our personal, as well as work-life, pollution level on the rise, nutrition deficiency in our diet, certain lifestyle issues and diseases, often affect the fertility of a couple. But the good news is, in today’s world, medical science has advanced so much that it is not impossible to give birth to a healthy child even after being diagnosed with infertility.

Infertility is defined as a medical condition when there is trouble getting pregnant even after trying for a year (up to age 35) or six months (aged between 35 to 40). Infertility can affect both men and women. Studies have revealed, about 1/3 rd of the infertility issues come from women, while men are responsible for the other third and the final third is ‘unexplained infertility’ that can be the combination of both the partners.

Once you suspect infertility or finding it difficult to conceive even after several trying, it is recommended that you and your partner both visit a doctor and seek advice on undertaking infertility test. Your doctor may ask you questions about your general health and lifestyle habits as well as your sex life. Also, you may be required to answer questions regarding your periods. After hearing all this, your doctor might ask you to go for infertility test. Infertility test is basically a thorough medical and physical evaluation tofind out the causes of infertility. Depending on the reports, your doctor will be able to address the issue properly and help you with the treatment, so that you can conceive in the future. Infertility test often contains a set of blood tests to determine if you, your partner or both of you have a problem which is causing infertility. Here we have discussed a few of them.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone or FSH Testing – Follicle-stimulating hormone or FSH is a hormone, which is associated with the reproduction and development of eggs in women and sperm in men. FSH helps to control a woman’s menstrual cycle and the growth of follicles, which contain the eggs. FSH testing is done on the second or third day of a woman’s menstrual cycle and is used to evaluate the supply of eggs and ovarian function. In men, the follicle-stimulating hormone is responsible for regulating the productionand transportation of sperm. FSH testing helps to determine sperm count in men.

Luteinising Hormone or LH Testing – Luteinising hormone or LH is associated with ovarian hormone production and maturation of eggs. This test helps to determine whether or not you are ovulating. In men, LH helps to stimulate testosterone hormone, which further affects the production of sperm. For men, LH testing is helpful to find out whether there is any problem regarding sperm production.

Anti-Mullerian Hormone or AMH Testing – This is regarded as the gold standard of infertility tests. AMH is present until a woman reaches her menopause. Lower levels of AMH can be linked with lower egg production, hence fewer chances of conceiving.

Prolactin Testing – This test measures the level of prolactin hormone in the blood. If prolactin levels are higher than normal in women, it can cause menstrual problems and infertility. In men, too much prolactin can lead to lower sex drive and inability to get or maintain an erection during sex.

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone or TSH Testing – Thyroid-stimulating hormone or TSH affects ovulation and abnormal thyroid hormone levels can make it difficult for a woman to conceive. TSH testing helps to measure the amount of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the blood.

Along with these, there are few other blood tests conducted to check for infertility. They are - Total Triiodothyronine or T3 testing, Total Thyroxine or T4 testing, DHEA – SULPHATE (DHEAS), 17 OH PROGESTERONE testing, etc. Apart from these blood tests, there are few other tests to diagnose infertility. They are – HSG, ovulation testing, ovarian reserve testing, semen analysis, etc.

Thyrocare Technologies Limited, India’s first and most advanced totally automated laboratory, offers a great package of infertility test, which includes a set of 10 blood tests. The package is very cost-effective as well.

Why get Tested for Infertility Test

Infertility is definitely a serious concern. Every couple wants to be a parent at some point in time in their life. But infertility shatters that dream of giving birth to a child. It is a medical condition, which takes a serious toll on our emotional health. Infertility can affect our relationship with our partner and also cause problems in our family life.

Infertility is basically the inability to conceive even after trying for a year. As soon as you suspect any difficulty in getting pregnant, it is recommended to visit a doctor and go for infertility test. The test results help to find out the cause of infertility. It also helps to reveal whether you or your partner or both of you are having any problem, which is preventing you from conceiving. As soon as the cause of infertility is detected through infertility test, your doctor can start the treatment to resolve the issue and increase your chance to give birth to a healthy child. Also, your doctor will be able to suggest you change certain lifestyle habits to increase your fertility.

When to get Tested for Infertility Test

As we already stated, when a couple fails to get pregnant even after trying for a year, the condition is called infertility. If this happens to you, you must go and book for an infertility test.

Preparation for Infertility Test

There are certain things that you must remember while thinking about undertaking infertility test. They are –

* Blood samples are required for this test.
* A woman’s blood samples need to be collected at a specific time during her menstrual cycle
* 10-12 hours of fasting is required before infertility test.
* Only water is allowed and intake of no other fluid is permitted.

Infertility is not easy to deal with. More than our physical health, infertility affects our mental health. But today medical science has advanced so much and there are so many options available for treating infertility. If you suspect infertility or facing unnatural delay in getting pregnant even after having regular and unprotected sex, then don’t delay anymore and undergo infertility test. The results will throw light on the causes of infertility, and give you the best chance to be a parent by undergoing proper treatment. Like every other disease, early detection is the key here as well, because the more time you waste, the more difficult it will become to fulfil your wish to be a parent.