Infertility is defined as the inability to achieve a pregnancy after one to two years of having regular unprotected intercourse.
80% of couples will succeed in conception in 12 months and this rises to 90% after 24 months. If you aren’t pregnant after that time, you are having menstrual problems or you would like reassurance as to your fertility status, you may want to speak to a doctor.

If you would like expert advice and fertility testing from a caring London obstetrician and gynaecologist Mr Colin Davis at Conception, Birth and Beyond could help.

Fertility assessments include:

Blood Tests – These check various hormone levels to give an accurate picture of your current fertility.

Hormones checked are:

Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) – This is produced in the ovarian follicles during the first stages of their development so measuring levels of AMH can provide an estimate for how many growing follicles a woman has and how many eggs she has left in her ovaries. This is called ovarian reserve and can be used to identify how long the woman is likely to be fertile. This test is particularly useful to women who are over 36 and want to check their fertility status and for those who are considering delaying getting pregnant.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) - FSH does exactly what the name implies, it stimulates your follicles to encourage maturation of an egg. As your fertility declines, more of the hormone is needed to elicit a response from your follicles. This means that low levels of FSH signify good fertility. Higher levels can be seen in women with fertility problems or those approaching menopause. FSH is produced by men too and is needed for the manufacture of healthy sperm.

Luteinising Hormone (LH) – LH surges just prior to ovulation to signal to the egg to burst out of the follicle. In men, LH is responsible for testosterone production and men with a deficiency of it may have lowered, low sperm count or erectile dysfunction.

Ultrasound Scan – An ultrasound scan of your pelvic organs can be done to check the condition of the uterus (for instance, to see whether there are any structural abnormalities or endometriosis).

Semen Analysis – A full semen analysis will be done to check for sperm count, motility and morphology.