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Learn more about the biology behind your egg count, as well as WHEN’s patented collection kit that delivers you clinical grade results from the comfort of your home.
First of all, let’s get this out of the way: fertility is a complex picture with many important things to consider and no single factor can predict your ability to conceive.
Because having an egg available to be released and fertilised is one of the keys to being able to conceive. But if knowing your egg count can’t predict if you’ll be able to become pregnant, what does it tell you?
Your egg count can:
Estimate if you have more or less eggs than what is expected for someone of your age.
Help highlight if you are at risk of running out of eggs earlier than what would be expected
Predict how you might respond to assisted reproductive treatments (like egg freezing or IVF)
So while your egg count is not a fertility crystal ball, it does give you valuable insight that you can use to make more informed decisions that support your family planning goals – whatever that looks like for you.
A person with ovaries is born with all the eggs they will ever have (around 1-2 million) and that number decreases as they age.
By the time you hit puberty, around 25% of the eggs remain – although this sounds a little scary, it’s actually completely normal.
The decline usually continues steadily until the mid 30’s, at which point it generally starts to speed up. By your early 50’s, a person with ovaries will typically reach menopause (which actually means the egg count has reached near zero.)
The rate of egg decline during those reproductive years is different for each individual, so it’s impossible to predict your egg count at any point without actually testing for it. And that’s where Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) comes in.
When we want to estimate egg count, it's impossible to actually count the number of eggs because they're too small. But we know that the eggs grow inside of follicles in the ovaries and each follicle produces a hormone called Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH). AMH is used by the follicles to regulate overall follicle activity inside the ovaries.
So, what we do is measure the amount of AMH in the blood and from this we can estimate the number of follicles there are in the ovaries. Once, we get an idea of how many follicles there are, the number of eggs can be estimated too. Over the last 20 years, there's been a substantial body of medical literature about AMH and it's used in fertility clinics and doctors' practices around the world.
Previously, getting your AMH tested meant you had to travel to your local pathology centre with a referral, get a needle in your arm and have your blood drawn – yep, it’s a lot. But recent developments in microsampling technology mean that it can now be tested easily and accurately from home.
WHEN Fertility’s at-home test kit is powered by the Mitra sampling device, a patented collection technology that’s used by top institutions globally. From a simple fingerprick, you can collect your own sample and send it back to our partner laboratory using regular mail.
Importantly, your results are supported with a report built by fertility specialists so that you understand what they mean. If you receive a low result then there’s an included tele-education appointment with one of our fertility nurses to answer any questions you might have.
Your samples are analysed using industry standard equipment to ensure clinical grade results.
All testing is performed in our Melbourne partner laboratory which is accredited to NATA's internationally recognised standards.
Our Co-Chief Medical Advisors are leading Australian Fertility Specialists and provide the expert commentary on your report so you know what your result means (and what it doesn't).
Meet the Medical Team
Understand your egg count with WHEN Fertility
Learn more about the science behind the Mitra IVD and our NATA approved Research Trial here.
