All About Fertility Tests & Screening

12th April 2018 in IVF

This information was correct at the time of publishing. It may not reflect our current practices, prices or regulations.

If you’re starting IVF and fertility treatment, here’s a quick overview of the pre-treatment fertility screening tests we’ll do.

The results are used to help us determine the right treatment and to check for any issues which could affect your chances of a healthy pregnancy and baby.

You’ll be advised on which tests are right for you and will always be given a clear explanation of what the results mean.

Female fertility tests

Screening tests for women involve checking the main factors that affect fertility, conception and pregnancy.

Some many involve internal 3D gynaecological scanning – known as transvaginal ultrasound – which examines your uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. This type of ultrasound is highly detailed and shows us if you have any blockages, adhesions or scarring, as these factors can affect which fertility treatment is likely to work for you.

Other screening is performed through a blood test, which measures important hormone levels relating to ovulation and fertility. This includes your ovarian reserve, which is the number of eggs remaining. Ovarian reserve gives us a good indication of how well you’ll respond to fertility medications for IVF.

Male fertility tests

Male fertility screening involves a detailed semen analysis that examines factors such as sperm count, movement and shape.

By looking at the sperm under the microscope, we can determine its ability to fertilise an egg and which type of fertility treatment is best if there are sperm issues. You may need a form of IVF called ICSI, specially designed for male infertility.

Determining treatment

Your fertility screening is only part of our initial assessment. We also look at non-medical factors that can affect fertility too, such as general health, BMI and lifestyle.

This gives us the most complete picture to determine which treatment is best for you, that gives you the highest chance of a baby.

If you have any questions about your initial fertility screening, talk to our Patient Advisors on 0161 300 2737.To start treatment, self-refer here.

Last updated: 11th April 2018