How do I know if I have normal AMH levels? 

AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) is a hormone made by the small, developing follicles in your ovaries. Measured with a simple blood test, and is a marker of your ovarian reserve or broadly, how many eggs you have left. It reflects egg quantity, not quality, and it’s one important piece of your wider fertility picture, not the whole story.

If you’ve come across it while looking into your fertility, egg freezing, or “checking your egg count,” you’re in the right place. Here’s what AMH actually is, what your result can and can’t tell you.

Quick facts:

• Your AMH level reflects how many eggs you have in reserve i.e. your ovarian reserve and it declines naturally with age
• It’s a blood test, not a scan, and can be taken at any point in your menstrual cycle.
• AMH tells you about egg quantity, not egg quality
• High AMH can indicate PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome) . Low AMH can indicate reduced ovarian reserve.

What is AMH?

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is made by cells surrounding the small, developing follicles in your ovaries. Each of these follicles contains an immature egg. Because the number of these follicles is related to the size of your remaining egg pool, the amount of AMH in your blood can provide an indication of your ovarian reserve.

Think of AMH as an indirect marker rather than an egg counter. It cannot tell you exactly how many eggs are left in your ovaries, but it can help show whether your ovarian reserve appears higher, lower or around what would be expected for your age.

You’re born with all the eggs you’ll ever have, as we age, both our egg quality and quantity declines. As the pool shrinks, so does your AMH, which is what makes it such a useful window into where your reserve sits for your age.

What is a normal AMH level for my age?

There is no single normal AMH level that applies at every age.

AMH naturally declines as you get older. A level that might be considered relatively low for someone in their 20s could be entirely expected for someone in their early 40s.

That means the most useful question is not if you levels are good or bad, but more about how your levels compare with what is expected for someone your age?

Broadly, AMH is higher in your twenties and declines through your thirties, with a steeper drop from the mid-thirties onwards, though there’s wide natural variation, and some people have a lower reserve earlier than expected.

AMH results are also assay-specific. Different labs use different testing platforms, and because there’s no single international standard for calibrating AMH, a number from one lab can’t be directly compared to a number from another. This is why a result is only meaningful when it’s read against the reference range of the exact lab that ran it.

At Hertility, AMH is interpreted using age-stratified reference ranges, so your result is compared with the expected range for people of a similar age rather than against one universal cut-off.

Your result should also be interpreted alongside factors such as your cycle history, symptoms, hormonal contraception, medical history and fertility goals.

How does AMH change with age?

AMH is generally highest earlier in reproductive life and decreases as the ovarian follicle pool declines with age.

There is, however, a lot of variation between individuals. Two people of exactly the same age can have quite different AMH levels without either necessarily having a reproductive health problem.

This is why age matters so much when interpreting AMH.

AMH also shouldn’t be confused with egg quality. Although both egg number and egg quality decline with age AMH measures the follicle pool. It does not tell us whether the eggs within that pool are chromosomally healthy.

What does a low AMH level mean?

A low AMH result means your ovarian reserve appears lower than expected for your age. It does not mean that you cannot get pregnant.

This distinction is really important.

AMH is much better at predicting how your ovaries may respond to fertility medication than it is at predicting whether you will conceive naturally.

Current NICE guidance specifically says AMH should not be used to predict the chance of pregnancy through spontaneous conception. Instead, AMH or an antral follicle count (AFC) can be used to predict ovarian response when planning assisted conception.

So if your AMH is low, it may mean that fewer eggs would be expected to develop during an IVF or egg-freezing stimulation cycle. Depending on your age and plans for pregnancy, it may also be useful information when thinking about fertility timelines.

But it does not tell us whether the eggs you have are healthy, whether you are ovulating, whether your fallopian tubes are open, whether there are any issues affecting your uterus or, where relevant, whether sperm factors could affect conception.

Does low AMH mean I can’t get pregnant?

Many people with low AMH conceive naturally and without difficulty, particularly when they are younger and their egg quality is high. What low AMH does mean is:

• There may be fewer eggs available for each stimulation cycle if fertility treatment is needed
• It may be worth acting sooner rather than later if conception is a future goal
• Egg freezing may be more time-sensitive if you’re considering it
• The ovaries may respond as well to IVF stimulation medication

It tells you that your egg quantity is lower than average for your age. If your AMH is very low, particularly if you are under 40 and also have irregular or absent periods or symptoms associated with early menopause, your doctor may want to investigate further for conditions such as premature or primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). AMH alone, however, does not diagnose POI.

Does high AMH mean I am fertile and won’t have problems conceiving?

A high AMH level usually means there are more small follicles in the ovaries than expected for your age. It does not automatically mean you are more fertile.

This is another common misconception about AMH.

More follicles may mean a larger ovarian reserve, but natural fertility depends on much more than egg quantity. AMH cannot tell you about egg quality, whether you ovulate regularly, the health of your fallopian tubes or uterus, or sperm quality.

Higher AMH is also commonly seen in people with PMOS, formerly known as PCOS, because the ovaries often contain a greater number of small follicles.

A high AMH result therefore needs context rather than being interpreted as simply “good”.

Can AMH diagnose PMOS or PCOS?

AMH can contribute to a PMOS/PCOS assessment in adults, but it cannot diagnose PMOS on its own.

Under current international guidance, AMH can be used as an alternative to ultrasound when assessing polycystic ovarian morphology in adults. It forms one part of the wider diagnostic pathway rather than being a standalone PMOS test.

A diagnosis still depends on the wider pattern of menstrual cycles, signs or blood-test evidence of raised androgens, and evidence of polycystic ovarian morphology, while ruling out other causes of similar symptoms. Hertility therefore looks beyond a high AMH result. Other hormones, symptoms and your cycle history can help identify whether the pattern could be consistent with PMOS or whether another explanation is more likely.

You can read more about how PMOS is diagnosed in the UK here.

Can AMH tell me how fertile I am?

No. There is no single test that can tell you whether you are fertile or predict with certainty whether you will become pregnant naturally.

AMH gives information about ovarian reserve. Fertility depends on many other factors, including age and egg quality, ovulation, the fallopian tubes, the uterus and sperm where relevant.

This is why describing AMH as a “fertility test” without context can be misleading.

Its strongest established clinical use is in fertility treatment, where ovarian reserve testing can help predict how the ovaries are likely to respond to stimulation and inform treatment planning.

You can read more about what AMH testing can and can’t tell you here.

What does AMH tell you about IVF or egg freezing?

AMH is particularly useful when planning IVF or egg freezing.

During these treatments, medication is used to stimulate several follicles to develop at once. Your AMH can help your fertility team estimate how strongly your ovaries may respond.

A lower AMH may mean fewer follicles and therefore fewer eggs are likely to be retrieved from one stimulation cycle. A high AMH may predict a stronger ovarian response.

This information can help clinicians plan treatment and medication doses.

What AMH cannot predict on its own is whether an individual egg will fertilise, whether an embryo will develop normally, whether an embryo will implant or whether treatment will ultimately result in a baby. Age and several other clinical factors remain important.

What can affect your AMH result?

AMH mainly reflects the number of small follicles in your ovaries, but several factors can influence either your ovarian reserve itself or the AMH concentration measured in your blood.

1. Age is the biggest biological driver. AMH typically decreases as the follicle pool naturally declines.
   
2. Hormonal contraception can temporarily lower AMH levels by 20-30%.  This effect varies according to the type of contraception and between individuals. Importantly, a lower AMH reading while using hormonal contraception does not mean that the contraceptive has used up or permanently reduced your eggs. Reassuringly, this suppression is temporary and reversible: levels return to your own baseline after stopping.
   
   If you want your truest baseline and you’re coming off contraception, at Hertility we recommend testing around three full cycles after stopping. That said, testing while you’re still on contraception is far from pointless, AMH remains one of the most stable markers of ovarian reserve, and if a result looks low even allowing for mild suppression, that’s useful information.
3. Ovarian surgery can reduce ovarian reserve, particularly when ovarian tissue is removed or affected during procedures such as surgery for an endometrioma.
   
4. Chemotherapy and pelvic radiotherapy can also damage ovarian follicles and reduce ovarian reserve, which is why fertility preservation may be discussed before treatment where appropriate.
   
5. Smoking has been associated with poorer reproductive outcomes, lower ovarian reserve markers in some studies and an earlier age at menopause. Stopping smoking is therefore one of the most important modifiable steps for protecting wider reproductive and general health.

For other factors such as body weight, vitamin D and individual dietary patterns, studies have produced mixed findings. An association with an AMH result does not necessarily mean changing that factor will restore ovarian reserve.

Can diet, supplements or lifestyle increase AMH levels?

There is currently no proven food, supplement or lifestyle change that can replenish your egg supply or reliably increase ovarian reserve.

You are born with a finite ovarian follicle pool, and there is currently no established treatment that creates a new supply of eggs.

A balanced diet, regular movement, not smoking, adequate sleep and looking after your general health are all valuable for reproductive and overall health. But that is different from saying a particular food or supplement can “boost AMH”. Be cautious of supplements or programmes that promise to increase your egg count based on an AMH result.

If your AMH is lower than expected, the most useful question is usually what that result means for you and your reproductive plans, rather than how to make the number higher.

When is the best time to take an AMH test?

AMH can generally be measured at any point in the menstrual cycle.

Unlike hormones such as FSH, LH and oestradiol, AMH does not show the same large cyclical changes across the month. There may be some variation, but AMH remains one of the more cycle-stable reproductive hormone markers.

So why might Hertility ask you to test around day 3? Because we generally don’t look at AMH in isolation.

If your personalised Hertility panel includes cycling hormones such as FSH, LH and oestradiol, these are usually most meaningfully interpreted during the early follicular phase of your menstrual cycle. Testing around day 3 allows these results to be interpreted against the appropriate phase-specific reference ranges.

In other words, AMH itself doesn’t require day-3 testing, the timing is about getting the clearest picture from your wider hormone panel.

If your periods are irregular, absent or you use hormonal contraception, your testing instructions may be different.

AMH blood test vs antral follicle count: what’s the difference?

An AMH blood test and antral follicle count (AFC) are both markers of ovarian reserve, but they measure it in different ways.

AMH measures a hormone produced by small ovarian follicles. An AFC is performed during a pelvic ultrasound and counts the small follicles that can be seen in the ovaries at that time.

Neither gives a literal count of every egg remaining, and neither measures egg quality.

AMH has the advantage of being a straightforward blood test. An ultrasound provides different information because it allows the clinician to look directly at the ovaries as well as other pelvic structures, including the uterus.

For someone who’s just starting out and wants to understand their fertility or egg count, AMH is the test to go for. It’s a quick blood test that comes with a report. For someone who’s already tested their AMH or is exploring options such as egg freezing, taking an AFC test would be the next step.Neither test is superior. They complement each other and used together, they give the most complete picture of ovarian reserve. At Hertility, our Advanced Hormone & Fertility Test includes AMH, and our Private Pelvic Ultrasound adds the AFC alongside a full assessment of your uterus and ovaries.

How to get an AMH test in the UK

You have two main routes: the NHS, or private testing, and for most people, the NHS route is more limited than they expect.

On the NHS, AMH isn’t a routine test. It’s generally only measured once you’ve been referred to a fertility specialist or are being assessed for treatment like IVF, and even then availability depends on local NHS criteria. Your GP usually can’t order it simply because you’re curious about your ovarian reserve or planning ahead, and referral itself typically requires having tried to conceive for 12 months (or 6 months if you’re 36 or over). Some NHS trusts don’t fund AMH at all. So if you want to check your reserve for planning rather than because you’re already facing fertility problems, the NHS often isn’t set up to help.

Privately, you don’t need a GP referral. You can visit a private clinic for a venous blood draw, or use an at-home test like Hertility’s, which uses a simple finger-prick sample you post to an accredited lab. Because AMH is cycle-independent, either can be done on any day. With Hertility, your AMH test result isn’t returned as a single number. It’s measured within a full panel of your reproductive hormones and reviewed by our clinical team in the context of your symptoms and history, so you leave with a clear, personalised understanding of what your result means and what to do next, not a figure to decode alone.

How Hertility can help you understand your AMH

Your journey starts with an Online Health Assessment, which asks about your cycle, symptoms, medical history, contraception and reproductive goals. 

Based on your answers, we personalise your hormone test panel to assess AMH alongside up to nine other relevant reproductive and thyroid hormones, including FSH, LH, oestradiol, prolactin, testosterone and thyroid markers.

We never test AMH in isolation because an AMH result cannot tell you whether your periods are regular because you are ovulating, whether your thyroid could be affecting your cycle, whether prolactin is raised or whether your hormone pattern could be consistent with a condition such as PMOS/PCOS. Looking at your hormones together can therefore provide a much more useful picture than AMH alone.

Crucially, you don’t just receive an isolated hormone number. Your personalised results can help you understand whether your ovarian reserve appears appropriate for your age, whether your wider hormone pattern may need further investigation, what your results could mean for your reproductive goals and what, if anything, you should consider doing next.

Your results are accompanied by personalised clinical interpretation and a care pathway, so you can make decisions with answers backed by science rather than guesswork.

Frequently asked questions

Is AMH the same as your egg count?
Not exactly. AMH reflects the size of your pool of developing follicles, which correlates closely with how many eggs you have in reserve, so it’s a very good estimate of egg quantity, but not a literal headcount of every egg.

What is a good AMH level?

There is no single AMH level that is “good” for everyone. AMH naturally changes with age and results are assay-specific, so your number should be interpreted against the appropriate age and laboratory reference range.

Is a higher AMH always better?
No. Higher AMH often reflects a larger number of small ovarian follicles, but it does not mean better egg quality or guarantee that you will conceive easily. High AMH can also be associated with PMOS/PCOS.

Can I get pregnant naturally with low AMH?
Yes. People with low AMH can conceive naturally. It is a marker of egg quantity rather than egg quality and does not measure many of the other factors involved in conception. A low AMH means a smaller reserve for your age; it does not mean you can’t conceive naturally. AMH can’t be used to predict natural conception. 

Can AMH tell me when I’ll go through menopause?
Not precisely. AMH tends to decline in the years before menopause, but a single result can’t predict the timing for any individual.

Does the pill lower AMH?
It can. The combined pill and some other hormonal methods can temporarily lower your measured AMH, often by around 20–30%. The effect is reversible after stopping, which is why testing around three cycles after coming off is recommended for your truest baseline.:

References

1. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Fertility problems: assessment and treatment. NICE guideline NG257. London: NICE; 2026. (Nice)
2. Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Testing and interpreting measures of ovarian reserve: a committee opinion. Fertil Steril. 2020;114(6):1151–1157. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.09.134. (ASRM)
3. Teede HJ, Tay CT, Laven JJE, et al. Recommendations from the 2023 International Evidence-based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Hum Reprod. 2023;38(9):1655–1679. doi:10.1093/humrep/dead156. (PubMed)
4. Li HWR, Robertson DM, Burns C, Ledger WL. Challenges in measuring AMH in the clinical setting. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021;12:691432. doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.691432. (Frontiers)
5. Bernardi LA, Weiss MS, Waldo A, et al. Duration, recency, and type of hormonal contraceptive use and anti-Müllerian hormone levels. Fertil Steril. 2021;116(1):208–217. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2021.02.007. (PubMed)
6. Landersøe SK, Petersen KB, Sørensen AL, et al. Ovarian reserve markers after discontinuing long-term use of combined oral contraceptives. Reprod Biomed Online. 2020;40(1):176–186. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2019.10.004. (PubMed)
7. Panay N, Anderson RA, Bennie A, et al.; ESHRE, ASRM, CRE-WHiRL and IMS Guideline Group on POI. Evidence-based guideline: premature ovarian insufficiency. Hum Reprod Open. 2024;2024(4):hoae065. doi:10.1093/hropen/hoae065. (OUP Academic)