Over the past few decades the popularity of in-home medical tests have increased. The first was the home pregnancy test which became enormously popular. For women, this was followed by ovulation tests and fertility monitors. Recently a number of tests of male and female “fertility” have appeared on the market. But are they worth the expense and is the information they provide accurate and worthwhile?
According to a report on the CBS weekend news, CDC figures show for the first time ever, women in their 30s are having more children than those in their 20s.” Delaying childbearing, however, may “affect a woman’s chances of getting pregnant.” Now, “a San Francisco bay startup” called Modern Fertility has “launched an at-home hormone test” to help a women determine her fertility status. CBS News correspondent Mireya Villarreal explained, “After a woman orders the test online, she pricks her finger, places drops of blood on a test strip and sends it to a lab where it’s tested for nine hormones. The company sends back a physician-reviewed online profile.” That profile “explains how hormone levels may affect the number of eggs she has left, if she is ovulating normally and potential red flags that could affect her” window of fertility.
The tests are the same ones that your doctor would order but the difference is that the results cannot stand alone to give a complete picture and have to be put in the context of your history and physical findings including an ultrasound. So you will probably be left with some test results and an incomplete answer. A woman may have a healthy number of eggs available, but she could experience other problems, such as endometriosis or blocked fallopian tubes, which prevents eggs from releasing and being fertilized. So it’s a lot better to just go to your gynecologist or a fertility specialist especially if you are having trouble conceiving.
But this is a lucrative business. The market for ovulation tests, fertility monitors and other mail-in home tests to help women up their odds of bearing is exploding. The global fertility test market is estimated to grow at an annual rate of 7.2 percent over the next five years — from $411.8 million this year to $583.1 million by 2023.
But if you want real answers, go see your doctor.