This Simple Test Could Change The Game For Young Australian Women Who Want To Have Babies

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Fertility experts are urging young women to get a simple blood test to help plan their fertility.

The advice comes after a study found both women and men consistently overestimated natural and IVF fertility with age”.

Flinders University researchers said many women were holding off falling pregnant to fulfil other goals, but didn’t know if they were prone to aging of the ovaries.

Professor Kelton Tremellen, Professor of Reproductive Medicine Flinders University, South Australia said just telling people not to wait to have kids didn’t work. 

“Over the last four decades we’ve seen the average age of mothers increase by about six years – now hovering around 31 years. We’re concerned that the Australians weren’t aware that fertility declined with age.”


He said most Australians “way overestimate” their fertility and believe fertility extends far later in life than it really does.  

He said a simple blood test can identify if there are issues and whether or not to pull forward their plans to have kids.

“We found that men often overestimate fertility than women… What this test does is highlight to these men that their partners’ egg reserves may not be that good and that time of ticking. If that helps those men agree to bring forward their plans to have kids then I think that’s a positive outcome.”

The test, which looks for hormones in blood, can help determine the number of eggs in a woman’s ovaries does not determine the quality of the eggs.

8 January 2019




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