When a couple has been unsuccessful at achieving pregnancy after one year, both partners need to go through a comprehensive physical and medical assessment. Fertility tests for women and a semen analysis should start immediately.  Because male factors account for approximately 50% of all infertility cases, it is important to examine both partners for possible infertility issues.

At-home semen analysis kits are available to help encourage male fertility testing.  The option of at-home kits allows men to be more comfortable with testing in the privacy of their own homes.

The first step in diagnosing female fertility is a comprehensive appointment with your fertility physician. During this appointment, your medical history and lifestyle will be discussed extensively. Topics such as birth control use, menstrual and pregnancy history, current and past sexual practices, medications used, surgical history, other health issues, and what your lifestyle is like as well as your work/living environment will all be discussed.

A thorough physical exam will also be done. Areas such as your thyroid, breasts, and hair growth will be looked at. A pelvic exam is also an important part of female fertility testing, along with a pap smear.

After this first appointment, your physician may want to proceed with some initial testing. This initial testing will evaluate things such as if ovulation is occurring, when it should be occurring, ovarian function, and uterine function during the ovulation process.

Ideally, you will have already begun tracking your ovulation through fertility awareness or a fertility monitor. This will provide your reproductive specialists with valuable information about your ovulation. Usually one of the first questions regarding female fertility is whether you are ovulating or not.

Ovulation evaluation may be broken down into types:

• Ovulation testing— to confirm if ovulation is occurring by looking through your temperature charts, using ovulation predictor kits and blood tests and ultrasound.
• Ovarian function tests–These tests are looking to see how the hormones are functioning and working during your ovulation cycle. Tests include the Day 3 FSH (measuring follicle stimulating hormone), Day 3 Estradiol (measuring estrogen), ultrasound (to confirm ovulation occurred), and blood tests to determine the levels of inhibin B.
• Luteal Phase testing– Testing will evaluate progesterone levels, more extensive hormone testing, and possibly an endometrial biopsy ( see below for more info on this procedure.)
• Hormone tests: Most of this testing will revolve around thorough hormone tests.

These hormone tests include the following:

• Luteinizing Hormone
• Follicle Stimulating Hormone
• Estradiol
• Progesterone
• Prolactin
• Free T3
• Total Testosterone
• Free Testosterone
• DHEAS
• Androstenedione

The following tests are also commonly used in the first evaluated cycle:

• Cervical mucus tests: This involves a post-coital test (PCT) which determines if the sperm is able to penetrate and survive in the cervical mucus. It also involves bacterial screening.
• Ultrasound tests: This is used to assess the thickness of the lining of the uterus (endometrium), to monitor follicle development, and to check the condition of the uterus and ovaries. An ultrasound may be conducted two to three days later to confirm that an egg has been released.

If both the semen analysis and the above testing return normal results, there is also additional testing that your fertility specialists may recommend.

Source: Americanpregnancy.org

Diagnostic Testing for Female Infertility

An evaluation of a woman for infertility is appropriate for women who have not become pregnant after having 12 months of regular, unprotected intercourse. Being evaluated earlier is appropriate after six months for women who are older than age 35 or who have one of the following in their medical history or physical examination:

• History of irregular menstrual cycles (over 35 days apart or no periods at all)
• Known or suspected problems with the uterus (womb), tubes, or other problems in the abdominal cavity (like endometriosis or adhesions)
• Known or suspected male infertility problems

Any evaluation for infertility should be done in a focused and cost-effective way to find all relevant factors and should include male as well as female partners.  The least invasive methods that can detect the most common causes of infertility should be done first. The speed and extent of evaluation should take into account the couple’s preferences, the woman’s age, the duration of infertility, and unique features of the medical history and physical examination.

The following tests may be recommended as part of your infertility evaluation:

Male Partner Semen Analysis: Although the semen analysis is obtained from the male partner, it is an essential part of the infertility evaluation.  A semen analysis should provide information about the number, movement, and shape of the sperm. A semen analysis is necessary even if the male partner has fathered a child before.

Hysterosalpingogram (HSG): This is an X-ray procedure to see if the fallopian tubes are open and if the shape of the uterine cavity is normal. A catheter is inserted into the opening of the cervix through the vagina. A liquid containing iodine (contrast) is injected through the catheter. The contrast fills the uterus and enters the tubes, outlining the length of the tubes, and spills out their ends if they are open.

Transvaginal Ultrasonography:  An ultrasound probe placed in the vagina allows the clinician to check the uterus and ovaries for abnormalities such as fibroids and ovarian cysts.

Ovarian Reserve Testing: When attempting to test for a woman’s ovarian reserve, the clinician is trying to predict whether she can produce an egg or eggs of good quality and how well her ovaries are responding to the hormonal signals from her brain.  The most common test to evaluate ovarian reserve is a blood test for follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) drawn on cycle day 3. In addition to the FSH level, your physician may recommend other blood tests, such as estradiol, antimüllerian hormone (AMH), and/or inhibin-B, as well as a transvaginal ultrasound to do an antral follicle count (the number of follicles or egg sacs seen during the early part of a menstrual cycle).

Ovarian reserve testing is more important for women who have a higher risk of reduced ovarian reserve, such as women who:

1. are over the age of 35 years;
2. have a family history of early menopause;
3. have a single ovary;
4. have a history of previous ovarian surgery, chemotherapy, or pelvic radiation therapy;
5. have unexplained infertility; or
6. have shown poor response to gonadotropin ovarian stimulation.

Other Blood Tests: Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and prolactin levels are useful to identify thyroid disorders and hyperprolactinemia, which may cause problems with fertility, menstrual irregularities, and repeated miscarriages. In women who are thought to have an increase in hirsutism (including hair on the face and/or down the middle of the chest or abdomen), blood tests for dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), 17-α hydroxyprogesterone, and total testosterone should be considered. A blood progesterone level drawn in the second half of the menstrual cycle can help document whether ovulation has occurred.

Urinary Luteinizing Hormone (LH): Over-the-counter “ovulation predictor kits” detect the presence of LH in urine and can detect a rise in this hormone that occurs one to two days before ovulation. In contrast to blood progesterone levels, urinary LH tests can predict ovulation before it occurs. Urinary LH testing helps define the times of greatest fertility: the day of the LH surge and the following two days.  However, these tests can be expensive and should only be used by women with menstrual cycles that are consistently 25-35 days in length.

Sonohysterography: This procedure uses transvaginal ultrasound after filling the uterus with saline (a salt solution). This improves the detection of intrauterine problems such as endometrial polyps and fibroids compared with using transvaginal ultrasonography alone. If an abnormality is seen, a hysteroscopy is typically done. This test is often done in place of HSG.

Hysteroscopy: This is a surgical procedure in which a lighted telescope-like instrument (hysteroscope) is passed through the cervix to view the inside of the uterus. Hysteroscopy can help diagnose and treat abnormalities inside the uterine cavity such as polyps, fibroids, and adhesions (scar tissue).

Laparoscopy: This is a surgical procedure in which a lighted telescope-like instrument (laparoscope) is inserted through the wall of the abdomen into the pelvic cavity. Laparoscopy is useful to evaluate the pelvic cavity for endometriosis, pelvic adhesions, and other abnormalities. Laparoscopy is not a first-line option in the evaluation of a female patient.  Because of its higher costs and potential surgical risk, it may be recommended depending on the results of other testing and a woman’s history, such as pelvic pain and previous surgeries.

For best results, the infertility evaluation should be individualized based on each woman’s specific circumstances.

Source: Reproductivefacts.org