Myths are everywhere when it comes to reproductive health and fertility. But how can we dispel fact from fiction? Here we’ve broken down some of the most prevalent fertility myths and swapped in the facts. Read on to find out.  Quick facts: What are the most common fertility myths? Fertility myths are everywhere. This is in part due to the lack of education and awareness surrounding reproductive health, exacerbated by today’s age of online misinformation.  From questions around age and gender to addressing whether contraception or lifestyle factors can really cause infertility, we’ve broken down some of the most common myths and corrected them with evidence-based facts.   Let’s get into it… Myth 1: Infertility only affects people over 35  Age is the most important factor in determining female fertility. This is because we are born with all the eggs we will ever have. As you get older, the number and quality of your eggs will decline.  As you approach your mid-30s the rate of decline increases which makes it more likely that you might experience difficulty getting pregnant.   However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t experience fertility issues before that. There are causes of infertility that can happen at any age, like PCOS, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, fibroids, and cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy exposure. If you’re under 35 and have been trying to conceive for a year with no success, you should seek medical advice. You should also seek help after 6 months if you’ve been trying to conceive and are over 35 or have an underlying health condition.  Myth 2: Infertility only affects women and those assigned-female-at-birth This is simply not true. About one-third of infertility cases are due to male factors, another third have inconclusive or unknown causes, and the remaining third are due to female factors.  There are a variety of reasons that can cause male infertility such as poor sperm quality, number, and erectile dysfunction which can cause issues when trying to get pregnant. While male fertility isn’t limited by age (and some men can father children well into their 60s and 70s), it doesn’t mean that male fertility is limitless. Myth 3: Male fertility doesn’t decline with age Just like female egg quality, sperm quality declines with age. There’s an increased risk of miscarriage, birth defects and autism with increased paternal age.  Hormonal changes can affect male fertility, affecting sperm production, mobility and motility. This is essentially the ability for sperm to move and swim towards the egg.  Myth 4: Infertility won’t be a concern if you’ve already been pregnant Unfortunately, even if you have had one or more children previously without any issues, you still might struggle to conceive or give birth in the future. If you are struggling to conceive after having a child, this is called secondary infertility and affects approximately 10% of people. Secondary infertility can be caused by factors such as age, complications from a previous pregnancy, medical treatment or damage to your reproductive organs.  If you’ve been trying to conceive again for some time without success, seek medical advice. Myth 5: Irregular periods mean you’re infertile  Irregular periods are common, but it’s possible to become pregnant even if you have them.  Lots of factors impact the regularity of your periods and menstrual cycle. Stress, sleep disruptions, changes to your exercise routine, medication and more can impact your hormonal balance. Irregular periods can mean irregular ovulation, which can make trying to conceive difficult because it is more difficult to know when your fertile window is. In this way, irregular periods can impact fertility.  Irregular periods, coupled with heavy, painful or infrequent periods (if they happen more than 35 days apart), can be a sign there’s something else going on. If this is the case, it’s worth getting a hormone and fertility test to understand if there might be any underlying hormonal issues that might be causing your symptoms. Myth 6: Long-term contraception will negatively impact your fertility The idea that hormonal contraception will cause infertility is a very common misconception, but thankfully it’s not true. Whether you’re on the pill, have an implant, an IUD (the coil) or the injection, the evidence suggests that there is no permanent impact on your fertility. Depending on the type, your use of hormonal contraception may temporarily suppress your ovarian reserve. It can take several months for both your ovarian reserve and periods to return to what is normal for you.  For example, if you’ve been on the pill, it could take 2-3 cycles for things to return to normal. If you were on the Depo injection, it might take up to 8-12 months. This is because it takes time for your hormones to get back to baseline. So, whilst there is no evidence to suggest that hormonal contraception can impact fertility in the long term, it’s worth knowing your body may need time to get back to normal when planning future pregnancies. Myth 7: Your lifestyle doesn’t matter because it’s all about sex  For conception to occur, sperm must meet the egg to become fertilised. So for those conceiving in a heterosexual relationship, this means you need to have sex at the right time—after you’ve ovulated. But this is not the only factor that impacts fertility. Leading a healthy lifestyle including exercising in moderation, eating a healthy, balanced diet, keeping stress to a minimum and avoiding or limiting alcohol and smoking may shorten the time it takes to get pregnant. If you need personalised diet recommendations to support fertility, you can speak with one of our fertility nutritionists. Myth 8: The more sex you have, the better your chances of conceiving Your fertile window exists only around ovulation—in the 6 days leading up to ovulation, the day of ovulation, and the day after.  This is because of the limited lifespan of both your eggs and sperm. Your egg will only survive about 2-24 hours after ovulation if not fertilised, while sperm can survive in the genital tract for up to […]

Fertility testing is much more common than it used to be. But with the growth in the at-home fertility testing market, how do you know which one is best? In this article, we explain why Hertility is a cut above the other at-home tests available.   Quick facts: What at-home testing can tell you Whilst there is no way to 100% definitively determine how fertile you are, testing our hormones can give us key insights into the functioning of our reproductive health and ovarian reserve (egg count).   There are a whole range of different hormones that can work hard to regulate the menstrual cycle and ovulation. If just one becomes imbalanced, it can throw the whole system off.  At Hertility, we’ve spent years building the most accurate diagnostic tool in female health and our tests can give indicative diagnoses within just 10 days of testing.  We don’t believe in doing things in halves—so unlike a lot of other at-home tests on the market, we provide full end-to-end care. Here’s what to expect with each step of our test.  Online Health Assessment  Your test starts with an Online Health Assessment. It takes around 5 minutes to complete and is essentially everything you would cover in an initial private gynaecologist appointment before being referred for a hormone test.  Up to 60 questions cover your medical history, period and cycle, symptoms and individual biomarkers. Each question has been carefully selected to build a 360-degree view of your health and fertility.  Our proprietary algorithm will then determine your risk factors, using 835,000 data variables, for various conditions or hormone imbalances. You’ll then be recommended a personalised hormone panel for your test, based on the analysis of your Online Health Assessment results.  Some other at-home tests don’t include this crucial step and will simply test you for a generic hormone panel. Which hormones do Hertility test? Depending on the outcome of your recommended panel, your test could include the following hormones:  Some fertility tests will only look at E2, LH, FSH and testosterone. These are all very useful in determining how your menstrual cycle is working, but without looking at the full picture and the interplay between different hormones, you’ll only be able to get half the picture.  That’s why we take a comprehensive, whole-body approach when it comes to your hormones and fertility.  You’ll receive your at-home test kit with your personalised panel 3-5 days after you place your order. Our kits are easy-to-use with detailed instructions on each step with links to video instructions. Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) A key part of any fertility test is measuring the levels of a hormone called Anti-Müllerian Hormone or AMH. Produced by the cells in your developing eggs, AMH can be used as a really powerful indicator of how many eggs you have left.  Studies comparing the levels of AMH with the number of eggs seen on a pelvic ultrasound scan (when done on the same day of your cycle) have shown AMH to be a reliable way to gauge egg count.  After peaking in your 20’s, AMH levels decline, dropping more rapidly after your mid-30s. However, this rate of decline differs from person to person so it’s important to test regularly to understand what this rate of decline looks like for you.  Based on over 10 years of clinical research, AMH is established as the single most important marker of ovarian reserve and forms a core part of our Hormone & Fertility test. AMH will always feature in your hormone panel, however, it’s important to know that if you’re currently taking hormonal contraception this can temporarily suppress your AMH. Although you can still test AMH while on contraception and get valuable insights, we recommend waiting three months after coming off contraception to give the most accurate results.  Furthermore, research has found that AMH has the potential to be used as an indicator of when someone will go through menopause, a predictor of fertility treatment success and can be used when diagnosing reproductive health conditions such as PCOS & POI.   A fertility test isn’t all about AMH. AMH alone cannot give you the entire picture, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. So, when looking at your fertility, and overall reproductive health, it’s crucial to take a whole-body approach.  Results and follow-up doctor-written report Just 10 days after sending your test kit back to us, you’ll be able to access your hormone results in your online health hub. Each hormone result comes with an explanation, so you can easily understand what your result means.  Along with your results, you’ll receive a doctor-written report that will consider your Online Health Assessment results alongside your blood work. Your dedicated doctor will outline a care plan based on any symptoms you might be experiencing and will recommend any onward care or treatments should you need them. The takeaway At Hertility, we care deeply about your health and well-being. Our mission is to arm women with the answers they need about their reproductive health so that they can make informed decisions about their futures. Our Online Health Assessment and at-home test kits have been rigorously quality tested and are CQC-approved, MHRA-regulated and CE-marked. Start your Health Assessment here.