I just read about this new test that should be available at fertility clinics very soon. This test is supposed to give women some very important information--how many good eggs they have left.
Plan Ahead, the first test of its kind to test and predict a woman's "ovarian reserve," will be available in fertility clinics in eleven states in the next few weeks. Marketed by Repromedix, it will be available for $350 to women who want a higher-tech insight into family planning than has previously been available.
Basically Plan Ahead will determine how many viable eggs a woman has by following three different hormone levels. The hormone levels are combined with the woman's age and estrogen levels to create a formula for her fertility. Or at least conceive a score for how many eggs are viable for reproduction.
It can't predict whether or not a woman is fertile or how quickly she will get pregnant. It also cannot determine the rate of deterioration of the viable eggs she does have.
All the math and blood tests and money and technology tells a woman one thing: If she's at risk of having a low supply of "good eggs." It is geared towards women in their mid to late thirty's that are having difficulty conceiving and are considering in vitro fertilization.
What do you think? Will this be a helpful test, or just another expensive option for women to consider doing tat are having enough stress trying to conceive?
And some doctors say there is too premature to offer this test to he public. And some medical professionals worry about false reassurances the test results might give some women, or the panic results might send some women into.
Personally, I see no harm in it if a woman wants to give it a try. Life is all about decisions, including when to start a family. So perhaps this will give women more information to take into consideration as they make decisions about work, career and babies. I think women will realize this test is not a guarantee of future pregnancies, nor that it is 100 percent accurate. But it could provide some helpful information that a woman may not have had access to before.
What do you think? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Would this test and the possible information it provides be worth the cost? Or is it another anxiety laden test women do not need to financially and mentally stress themselves out over?
Read this article in full right here.