A Guide To Home Fertility Tests For Women

“Home fertility tests use simple measures to detect hormone levels and/or ovulation and give users information about their fertility,” explains Erica Montes, M.D., a board-certified OB-GYN in Phoenix. “Different tests check different hormones, such as FSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone, estradiol, luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone.” Some home fertility tests provide answers about hormone levels almost immediately, while others may need to be sent to a lab to get results.

There are two basic types of home fertility tests for women: ovulation testing and testing involving a blood sample. Ovulation testing, according to Dr. Montes, involves urinating on a test strip and waiting for results to appear. Ovulation tests can help troubleshoot fertility issues by revealing some important background information; according to Dr. Montes, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common fertility problem that is associated with irregular cycles and issues with ovulation. “So if your home ovulation testing is showing that you are not ovulating, you should see your physician or provider,” she notes.

Other tests require a blood sample that can be produced at home with a finger prick.  These tests differ from ovulation testing in that they look at different hormones from ovulation testing—while ovulation testing looks at your ovarian reserve, blood sample testing looks at the hormones listed below. Dr. Montes notes that both tests are important in that they give a more full picture of someone’s fertility.

• Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH): Tests that require a blood sample on day two or day three of your cycle often look for FSH. FSH is an important hormone made in the pituitary gland. It travels to your ovaries and stimulates the growth of eggs during your menstrual cycle. A high FSH level could be an indication that something is wrong, like premature ovarian failure or PCOS.
• Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH): Some blood tests look for AMH, explains Dr. Montes, which can indicate the size of the remaining egg supply or ovarian reserve. She adds, “AMH is not a perfect predictor of natural fertility or ovarian reserve. It is more used to set expectations and help guide which protocol will be used for fertility treatments such as IVF.”
• Luteinizing hormone (LH): Ovulation test strips look for LH levels. Dr. Montes notes that LH levels can indicate when you are ovulating, which is helpful in getting a better picture of your cycle.

Home fertility tests can be a good first step in learning more about your fertility, experts note, but they don’t provide all of the answers.

One of the biggest reasons for using a home fertility test is that it tends to be easier, more convenient and more comfortable than working with a doctor.

Most women who use fertility tests at home do so because they’re having trouble conceiving. The ACOG recommends that you should try fertility testing if you have not gotten pregnant after one year of having unprotected sex without using birth control. If you are over 35, you should consider testing after six months of unprotected sex without birth control.

Those who are concerned about their fertility may use a home test to check things out before seeing an expert. “A woman may want to use it to test ovulation on a particular cycle or if she is just curious to know her ovarian reserve or amount of ovarian follicles she has for pregnancy,” says Dr. Montes.

Home fertility tests may be convenient, but they are not always the most accurate. “These tests cannot give you a diagnosis or cause for possible infertility, and you still may need to see your physician or provider to help interpret the results,” says Dr. Montes. “These tests won’t give you information about the patency of your tubes, endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids or other causes of infertility.”

She concludes that while they can be a good starting point, they just won’t paint the whole picture, adding, “it’s  important to follow the instructions and realize that the tests do not necessarily give you the answer to a possible underlying fertility condition.”

Figuring out the potential cause of infertility will likely require many different tests and procedures. “A typical fertility evaluation includes a pelvic ultrasound to evaluate for fibroids, any uterine malformations and evaluate ovaries, a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) to evaluate the patency of the fallopian tubes and uterine cavity, ovarian reserve testing which includes FSH, estradiol and AMH (which is blood work that reflects egg quality and helps predict response to fertility treatments such as IVF), semen analysis and other blood tests depending on risks of clinical history,” says Dr. Montes.

Indeed, some research suggests that the hormones many at-home fertility tests look at might not always be potential markers of reproductive potential  A 2017 study on women ages 30 to 44 without a history of infertility who had been trying to conceive for three months or less found that biomarkers (such as AMH and FSH levels) indicating a diminished ovarian reserve compared to a normal ovarian reserve were not even associated with reduced fertility^[2]Steiner A. et al. Association Between Biomarkers of Ovarian Reserve and Infertility Among Older Women of Reproductive Age. JAMA. 2017;318(14):1367-1376. .

Below, we describe how a handful of at-home fertility tests work. However, experts note that the efficacy of home fertility tests increasing pregnancy rates has not been proven, and they do not substitute an evaluation from your doctor. They can, though, provide you with reassurance—or signal that a call to your doctor might be in order.

Modern Fertility

Modern Fertility—a reproductive health company that specializes in making personalized fertility information more accessible—offers a scope of fertility products ranging from prenatal vitamins to hormone tests.

Modern Fertility’s products are validated with clinical studies and conducted in a CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) and CAP (College of American Pathologists) accredited lab, according to the company. CLIA labs have to meet the highest standards to get both state and federal certifications and are subject to regular inspections. CAP-accredited labs have to meet standards set forth by the CLIA, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

When you order a Modern Fertility test, it’s customized based on your method of birth control. Using it is easy: you do a simple finger prick, then send the blood sample to a lab. A few days later, you receive results in the form of a fertility profile that you can find on the Modern Fertility app. The test looks at several different hormones: AMH, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), FSH, estrogen, free thyroxine (the main hormone produced by the thyroid), prolactin (a hormone produced by the pituitary gland), and luteinizing hormone (LH), which regulates the length of your cycle. The app shows you several different hormones, such as AMH, TSH and FSH.

LetsGetChecked

LetsGetChecked offers three different types of fertility tests:

• Progesterone test: This measures the level of progesterone in the blood and looks at ovulation based on that.
• Ovarian reserve test: This tests the range of AMH in the blood to give insight into how many eggs you have in your ovaries.
• Female hormone test: This gives the most comprehensive look at your fertility because it looks at several different hormones, including FSH and LH.

LetsGetChecked tests require you to take a sample of blood through a finger prick test, then send it back to the lab using a prepaid shipping label. You can view results between two to five days via a private report, and then doctors and nurses are available 24/7 to talk about your results for a more personalized experience.

The laboratories are CLIA-approved and CAP-accredited, according to the company, and the sample collection kits are manufactured in their ISO 13485-accredited facility. The tests vary in price, but are all under $150.

Everlywell

Everylywell offers two different types of fertility tests:

• Ovarian reserve test: This test measures FSH levels and checks to see how many eggs are in the ovaries.
• Women’s fertility test: This test measures five different hormones: estradiol, LH, FSH, TSH and testosterone. This gives a better idea of whether or not your hormone levels fall at established rates.

Both tests require blood samples by finger prick. After collecting your sample, you send it back with a prepaid shipping label, and receive physician-reviewed results through a secure digital platform a few days later. The test results come with additional resources and helpful tips, and detailed information on what the results mean.

The tests are affordable and Everlywell works with CLIA-certified labs. The tests are also reviewed and approved by an independent board-certified physician within your state, according to the company, and Everlywell is HIPAA compliant.

Mira Plus Starter Kit + Confirm Bundle

The Mira kit is a little different than the other tests listed so far. The kit comes with the Mira Analyzer and 10 Mira Fertility Plus Test Wands, and measures three key hormones: LH, E3G (a hormone produced when estrogen breaks down in your body) and PdG (the urine metabolite of progesterone).

Mira requires a urine sample; you dip the test wand into the urine, insert the wand into the Mira Analyzer and then look at the downloaded app to get your results almost immediately.

Tracking both estrogen and PdG is designed to give you a look at your full fertile window and ovulation, tracking more than just fertility. It allows you to track your cycle, manage irregular cycles, PCOS and hormone imbalances and monitor hormone levels for fertility treatments.

One advantage of Mira is that you get results quickly on an app rather than sending your sample to a lab and waiting a few days.

Ava Fertility Bracelet

If urine samples or finger pricks don’t sound appealing to you, you might want to look into the Ava Fertility Bracelet. As the name suggests, this is a bracelet that doesn’t require any samples. The bracelet collects information and data while you’re sleeping via biomarkers, which are defined as biological markers found in blood, other body fluids or tissue. In this case, examples of these biomarkers include skin temperature and heart rate, which can help predict a woman’s fertility windows. In the morning, you sync the bracelet to the app to get your results.

The sensor bracelet collects data 25 times per second while you’re sleeping, and the information is analyzed to pinpoint the fertile window in real time. It’s the first wearable device designed to manage and track a woman’s cycle, and does so by looking at skin temperature, movement and sleep stage, and heart rate variability, pulse rate, breathing rate and skin perfusion. It is research-backed and has been shown to track all five physiological signals of fertility, according to the company.

The bracelet requires virtually no work on your part, and not only shows when you’re most fertile, but also gives you stats on how well you’re sleeping, how stressed you are and what your resting pulse rate is. The downside is that it’s the most expensive option on this list, and it doesn’t look at many of the same hormones the other tests do.

Make an appointment with your OB-GYN or a fertility specialist if you are under 35 and have not become pregnant within 12 months of trying, or if you are over 35 years of age and have not become pregnant within six months of trying, recommends Dr. Montes.

If you take a home fertility test and notice that something may be off, it’s always a good idea to make an appointment with a doctor. In fact, experts emphasize that patients anxious or concerned about their fertility should seek out help as early as they feel they need it.