Egg timer test for fertility
A female fertility test, the so-called "Egg Timer Test" is proving popular with Australian women.Egg fertility test
The test involves a single blood test and a pelvic ultrasound carried out between days 3 to 5 of a woman's menstrual cycle. Testing hormone levels and using the scan results fertility experts can estimate the number of eggs still left in the ovaries.
The test is not new and was pioneered by Adelaide IVF clinic Repromed. However, the demand for the test has grown, and now about a dozen fertility clinics in Australia offer the test.
The test was originally designed to test patients' likely responsiveness to IVF treatment, before their IVF treatment started. However, a growing number of women are using it to decide when to start a family, particularly as female fertility begins to fall for women in their 30s and drops significantly once they reach 40.
The test was developed by Dr Kelton Tremellen of the Repromed clinic, who stated,
"It gives an accurate assessment of how many eggs you have for your age, relative to your peers."
"By this, I mean it identifies women who have significantly fewer eggs left within their ovaries compared to other women of the same age.
"But the results are quantitative rather than qualitative. If you get a bad result it doesn't mean you can't fall pregnant or that your eggs are low quality."
Test critics
However, the test has its critics. Professor Robert Norman, fertility specialist and director of the Robinson Institute at Adelaide University, has stated he would not encourage women to have the test, unless they already have fertility issues.
"The results have zero correlation with women's fertility."
"A woman could be 30 and have low egg reserves and still be normally fertile as the test tells you nothing about egg quality."
"With inadequate counselling the test can cause enormous stress."
"I have had many women coming to me who have panicked after receiving bad results and thinking they would need IVF and I think it is often used to scare people into inappropriate fertility treatment when they didn't need it."
"The best predictor of fertility potential is still age."
Read more at: adelaidenow.com.au