Assisted Reproductive Technology for women above 35 years

We test for AMH ( Anti Mullerian Hormone) to check for egg reserve or the egg number in an individual.  This reflects the fertility potential of that particular individual.  Low AMH is very commonly seen as a reason for not getting pregnant in subfertile couples more so in recent times.This is mainly because of lifestyle issues where women want to try for pregnancy only in their early 30s and some in their late 30s. However, the fertility for women is at peak during their 20s and starts declining in the early 30s and more so when one is just 35 years of age.

Actually in my clinic, two out of the three women who are over 35 years of age have very low AMH. Unfortunately, many women are not aware of this.

Based on the assessment of what is called “antral follicle count” on ultrasound and  AMH values, we get an idea of the ovarian reserve or in other words number of eggs in that individual. Even in women with low egg number we can achieve pregnancies with the aid of ART techniques such as IUI or IVF.

While performing IVF, provided we get good quality eggs and thus good quality embryos  we have good success rates in this group of patients also using their own eggs. However, if the reserve is really low or post IVF if we find the egg quality is very poor, we suggest the next step which is IVF using donor eggs.

For a more detailed discussion, fix an Appointment here.

DR.S.VYJAYANTHI

MD, DGO, DNB, MRCOG, MSc (Embryology, UK)

Head of Department and Consultant Fertility Specialist