Contributed by – Healthians Team
Your age is over 35 years.
Your test report states that your AMH levels are less than 1ng/ml.
You are told that your egg reserves are scarce.
You are disappointed with this news and start wondering if you can ever get pregnant with those low AMH levels?
Of course, you can!
Don’t think that the game is over…
Low AMH levels may make you think you have lost the chance of getting pregnant. But in reality, low levels of AMH do not correlate with your ability to get pregnant. The AMH level is just a reflection of the number of remaining egg supply in your ovary. No doubt the chances of getting pregnant declines after 35 years, but that doesn’t mean you have no chances at all. AMH levels vary from month to month, and a lower level doesn’t say with absolute certainty whether you can or cannot become pregnant.
Here is the truth…
Research has demonstrated that there is NO difference in pregnancy rates in women with normal AMH values trying to conceive versus women with low AMH levels (less than 1 ng/ml) trying to conceive. AMH level is in no way a predictor of whether you can or cannot become pregnant. It can only give you a realistic overall picture of what your ovarian reserve is now. It gives you information about your body you would not otherwise have. It is important that you are armed with all of the knowledge about your fertility, so you feel empowered to make decisions regarding your health.
[Also read – Infertility in women: What are the possible causes?]So what does all this mean?
It just suggests that time is now at a premium for you – please don’t waste it! That is, if you are at the ‘lower end of the normal range’ for your age, you must seek professional help without any delay. This holds true more for women over 35 or 40. This will give you an opportunity to talk about your results in the context of all the other fertility factors. In some cases, the diminished ovarian reserve may uncover another underlying medical problem.
Acknowledge and realize this fact.
The diminishment of your ovarian reserve is an inescapable fact of reproductive biology. A dip in the number of eggs is an active process. You cannot stop this process nor can you regenerate more — and that’s it! There is no therapy that can increase the number of eggs in the ovary or your AMH level. This is contrary to health claims and remedies that advertise medication or treatments to enhance AMH levels.
Remember, there is no AMH diet or magic formula you can take to replenish and fix this number. Likewise, no treatment can stop the process of diminishing ovarian reserve. Neither is there any medication that you can buy to initiate this process on your own.
[Also read – How does prolactin affect fertility?]That means…
So, if you find out that your numbers do not fall in the normal range and you have a lower than expected AMH, do not engage in catastrophic thinking and raise your stress levels! Numbers are sometimes simply numbers. Do not let them scare you into abandoning efforts to become pregnant. What you should do is take proactive action. Consider a consultation with a specialist to discuss your options of using assisted reproductive technologies to achieve a pregnancy.
Remember…
AMH is one of many bits of data that builds a picture. A Low AMH level is not a death sentence. Just ask all the women out there diagnosed with low AMH levels and are now holding their babies.