Homepage Egg Quality: It isn’t easy to measure. This is how we do it.
Category: DiagnosesMay 15, 2008 11:15 am
The fastest way to a healthy pregnancy is to ensure the maturation and release of the best eggs possible.
Obviously there is more to it than that-for one thing, sperm are necessary-but good quality eggs are the basis of any successful outcome, and confirming egg quality is therefore the focus for so much of what we do.
Most women have a mix of eggs that are of good quality (fertilization should lead to a baby) and not good quality (the fertilized egg won’t grow, or if it does, won’t continue to develop into a healthy pregnancy). Hopefully you have more of the former.
To find out, we will take your history, and complete a series of tests. The results can conflict somewhat, so though you cannot focus too much on any one result, the larger picture should come into view once all the results are back.
Here are the factors that we consider:
1. Your age
Nearly all women will have good eggs under the age of 35y.
The vast majority will have good eggs until 38y.
Over age 38, everyone is different. The average age beyond which women will not have a healthy ongoing pregnancy is 42y.
2. Your Ovarian reserve
FSH
Antral follicle count
Ovarian volume
AMH
3. Cycle factors:
Cycle length
Pre-menstrual spotting
Ovulation day
Peak Estradiol
Peak Progesterone
4. Outcome of any recent pregnancies
5. Lab results from any IVF cycle
The links above expand on the list, so that you can understand how this information may apply to you.
Was this post helpful?
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...4 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Sarah
After reading other sites I find conflicting information with respect to pre-menstrual spotting and how it affects egg quality specifically? Please explain.
TGH
Hi Sarah,
“Premenstrual spotting”, also known as luteal phase spotting, may be as a result of lower-than-normal progesterone levels. Egg quality and progesterone can be related. For more information you could look here http://www.fertility.ca/2008/06/how-your-menstrual-cycle-reflects-your-egg-quality/
However, egg quality is not the only explanation. There are many other possible reasons for spotting in the luteal phase, including intrauterine polyps, fibroids, a thin uterine lining, progesterone receptor deficits, and bleeding from the cervix….so I would not take luteal spotting as a certain sign of egg quality compromise. But I would look into it further, to see why it might be happening to you.
Julie
I’m a 38 year old woman who has been experiencing peri-menopause for the past year. I haven’t had my period since February and my FSH is quite high. I would like to know if I would be a viable candidate for egg preservation. I have read that this is more complicated than cryopreservation of embryos, but still doable.
TGH replies
Dear Julie,
Unfortunately, from what you have written, egg freezing will not work for you. I am sorry for this news.
You are right that egg freezing is more complicated than embryo freezing. In my opinion, the best programme in our country at the moment for elective (non-cancer related) embryo freezing is the McGill program. If you feel that you need a more thorough opinion than I can provide in this forum, I suggest contacting them directly.
Jennifer
I just turned 38 and have been trying to conceive for 7 months with no success. My doctor said that as my cycles were long (around 34 to 35 days) and I was ovulating anywhere from day 17 to 21, that clomid would be a good option for me. He said that it is harder to get pregnant with long cycles.
However, after reading through your site, there seems to be some contradictory information to this.
Can you advise?
Dear Jennifer,
Clomiphene (Clomid, Serophene) is controversial for unexplained infertility but the medication can be of real benefit for women who do not ovulate at all.
Women with long cycles can sometimes not actually be ovulating. To find out for yourself, try monitoring a cycle (either through a fertility clinic or at home with urinary LH detection).
If you are ovulating, clomiphene may help a little (cycles will shorten, so you can try more often, and you will release more eggs at a time) but there really isn’t anything wrong with a long cycle per se. I also do not like to recommend any medication until some other basic tests are in place, like a sperm count.
Best,
TGH