Fertility Testing in Your Own Home

Anna Sawyer* never thought about her fertility until she and her husband decided the time was right to conceive a baby. They thought getting pregnant would take maybe a month or two. They had no reason to think it wouldn’t be quick and easy since they were in their early thirties and healthy, but after four months of trying, they still were not pregnant and they started to get concerned as to why.

Anna states: “When looking at the big picture, four months of trying to conceive is not terribly long. However, as each month passed and we still were not pregnant, I started to worry and I was stressed.”

Facts about Fertility
On average, for a healthy, fertile couple the success rate every month is only around 15 to 20 percent. Approximately 70 percent of couples will conceive after six months of trying and 80 percent will be pregnant after 12 months of trying. Therefore, couples who do not get pregnant quickly inevitably ask: “How long should we wait until we go to see a fertility specialist?”

Since a person’s age plays a big factor in their ability to conceive (fertility rates drop significantly after age 35) some couples do not have a lot of time to keep trying to conceive without knowing if there is an underlying male or female fertility issue.  

Determining if There is a Problem
To help determine if a couple has a fertility problem, there is a new fertility test called Fertell^®. The test can be performed in the privacy of their own home. For a woman, the test measures her follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level, an indicator of ovarian reserve or a marker of how likely she will conceive. For a man, the test indicates the concentration of motile sperm.

Samantha Pfeifer, MD, a fertility specialist at Penn Fertility Care and scientific advisory board member of Genosis, the maker of Fertell, explains the significance of the elements being tested, “Ovarian reserve refers to the number and quality of eggs a woman has. Ovarian reserve is assessed by measuring the FSH level. The Fertell test detects a FSH level greater than 10, which may signify decreased ovarian reserve. In this situation consultation with a specialist would be advised.”

“Both male and female partners should take the test since fertility problems are just as likely to be attributed to the man as the woman. Fertell measures the concentration of motile sperm — the active sperm that are more likely to fertilize an egg. If the Fertell test shows that there are less than 10 million motile sperm, then the couple should contact a fertility specialist for consultation.”

Testing is Easy
Testing with Fertell is easy. On Day 3 of her period, a woman uses the urine dipstick in the same manner as taking a pregnancy test. The male fertility test involves collecting a semen sample into a container.

Fertell is FDA approved and the tests are 95 percent accurate. It is available in select pharmacies nationwide without a prescription.

Dr. Pfeifer states: “Fertell is a tool to help couples be proactive in their attempt to conceive. This test is not meant to replace a normal fertility evaluation, but it does help to raise some red flags about factors that are important in fertility, and may get couples to see a fertility specialist sooner than they would have otherwise.” Anna and her husband conceived after ten months of trying and are now expecting a boy.

Anna states: “I wish this test was available when I was trying to conceive so that I could put my initial concerns about my fertility at ease.”

* Name changed for privacy.

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