Does anyone wish they would have been offered an AMH test years ago?

[Anonymous]

I am 42. I remember talking to my GYN when I was 30 about whether or not I should or could wait a few years to get pregnant. I remember her saying, "you're so young, you have plenty of time." Not once did she or any other GYN mention that there's an easy, quick blood test to test measure your ovarian reserve (AMH test).

I wish someone had told me about this. I did get pregnant right away when I started trying at 35, easy pregnancy and delivery and healthy and happy baby, but then when we started TTC #2 at age 37 I found I could not get pregnant again because of low ovarian reserve (low AMH). My AMH was .30 at age 37.

Fast forward 6 years of TTC, IUIs and IVFS (nothing ever worked) and I will never be able to have a second child with my own eggs. DH and I decided to stop TTC this month, and give up. I wish someone had told me years ago about the AMH blood test, which I would have gotten, which would have told me in my early 30s that I had declining ovarian reserve, so I would have gotten pregnant quickly and then been able to have had a second if I hadn't waited until 37 to get started.

[Anonymous]

I think you are second guessing yourself. It’s possible if you had taken the AMH test at 30 and found out you were 1.1, you would have done a bunch of research and concluded AMH only correlates with how well you will react to fertility drugs, and not chances of natural conception. You would have convinced yourself you had more time because you weren’t ready to start having kids at 30. Instead, you wish you had only known...

[Anonymous]

It is also a fairly new test. I don't know for sure but it might not have been widely known about or used 12 years ago, outside of RE offices.

[Anonymous]

As an overall comment- we aren’t empowered with a whole lot of fertility awareness when we are young (believing that we are invincible instead). It also doesn’t help that TV and sex ed classes make you think it’s super easy to get pregnant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an overall comment- we aren’t empowered with a whole lot of fertility awareness when we are young (believing that we are invincible instead). It also doesn’t help that TV and sex ed classes make you think it’s super easy to get pregnant

Agreed. On some of these threads other women are scornful saying "you should have known better!" but truly I didn't know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is also a fairly new test. I don't know for sure but it might not have been widely known about or used 12 years ago, outside of RE offices.

I don't think it was used back then. I started infertility testing about 10 years ago and there was just the day 3 bloodwork for ovarian reserve - it was only when I went back about 5 years ago hoping to get pregnant again that they did an AMH and it was just one more clue that I was screwed.

[Anonymous]

No one offered me an AMH test until I was 39. I am not sure why but my guess is that norms have shifted and now OBs are starting to wake up to the need to do more testing to empower their patients. I tell all my 20 to 30 something friends to demand the day 3 test. I have a healthy 22 month old. I am thankful that it worked out for me. But it often doesn't

[Anonymous]

They didn't know. And in other countries, it's still not used today.

Be grateful for what you already have, OP.

[Anonymous]

I wish I had done it earlier.

[Anonymous]

I agree, we should do more to provide these tests to women earlier! However, you really don’t know if you’d have been able to get pregnant again easily...lots of women have secondary infertility(mine was unexplained)...so in that sense I think you’re blaming yourself too much

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an overall comment- we aren’t empowered with a whole lot of fertility awareness when we are young (believing that we are invincible instead). It also doesn’t help that TV and sex ed classes make you think it’s super easy to get pregnant

Sigh. Because teen and young adult fertility is at its HIGHEST, so the sex ed classes you take at that age are right to stress this fact. By the time you reach your 30s, fertility has decreased significantly already.

Women with careers have a problem - peak fertility does not align with peak financial and psychological preparedness.

[Anonymous]

I also asked at 30 and was told I had plenty of time. I wasn't told about any tests. Turns out that I didn't have ovarian reserve issues; instead, I had PCOS which I didn't discover until I went off birth control at 32. While I was able to overcome my diagnosis with IVF, I would have appreciated having had more time to save up for fertility treatment/heads up that I needed to switch employers for insurance coverage. I am glad that I didn't rely more heavily on my OB's advice that I could wait until I was 35 to start TTC.

[Anonymous]

I tell any women I know in their 30's - even if they aren't married, to request the AMH. I agree that we aren't empowered with the information required until it's 'too late'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also asked at 30 and was told I had plenty of time. I wasn't told about any tests. Turns out that I didn't have ovarian reserve issues; instead, I had PCOS which I didn't discover until I went off birth control at 32. While I was able to overcome my diagnosis with IVF, I would have appreciated having had more time to save up for fertility treatment/heads up that I needed to switch employers for insurance coverage. I am glad that I didn't rely more heavily on my OB's advice that I could wait until I was 35 to start TTC.

This. My AMH was great when I first had it tested at 36. Found out I have a balanced translocation when I was 37, so I had lots of eggs, but mostly chromosomally defective ones. AMH isn't the whole story, and I would hate to see women get a false sense of security from that one test.

[Anonymous]

I agree with all the sentiments above. My sister is in her late 30s and has been waiting to have kids until her and her husband have more stable finances (they're by no means low-income, though). I just think in their situation, it'd be nice to know whether or not they have time to wait.

I'd also add, along with fertility testing, I wish OBGYNs would more actively offer genetic screenings PRIOR to getting pregnant. I hate how some offices will push testing once you're pregnant, but not before.