Infertility

Female infertility tests

By Michael Russell

Keeping a record of basal body temperatures can be helpful in establishing whether or not a woman ovulates. Every morning, immediately after waking up and before any activity, the woman takes her temperature. Special thermometers that are somewhat easier to read than regular thermometers are available for this purpose. Before ovulation, morning oral temperatures usually range from 97.0°F to 97.5°F ( 36.11°C to 36.39°C). Mmorning temperatures can be a degree lower than those taken later in the day. After ovulation, because of the effect of increased levels of progesterone, morning temperatures are usually 93.0°F (33.89°C) or above until menstruation occurs. Ovulation usually occurs during the day before the temperature rise. Therefore, an accurately recorded temperature chart that shows low temperatures in the early part of the menstrual cycle and higher temperatures for the last fourteen days is presumptive evidence that ovulation has occurred.

Thanks to ovulation test kits that are easy to use at home, it is now possible to find out when conception is most likely to occur. By measuring the amount of the eternizing hormone (LH) in her urine each day beginning with the tenth day of her menstrual cycle, the woman will detect a sudden significant increase in the LH hormone by a change in the color of the testing paper. This change occurs twenty-four hours before ovulation. Intercourse should take place on the day of the color change and the next day to ensure maximum probability of conception. The ovulation test kits are available over the counter under such names as Ovukit, OvuQuick, and Q-Test. They are also available through a doctor.

Another test to help determine if ovulation is occurring is an eudiometrical biopsy. This test is usually performed on the first day of the period or in the week before a period is expected. An eudiometrical biopsy normally can be done in the physician's office without the use of anesthesia. A speculum is inserted into the vagina and the cervix is grasped with an instrument called a tenaculum, which may cause a slight pinching sensation. Then a small, thin instrument is inserted into the uterine cavity to take the biopsy. This procedure may cause a brief cramping sensation. The removed tissue is sent to a laboratory to be examined microscopically. In addition to confirming whether ovulation has occurred, this test sometimes can identify other causes of infertility such as infection and certain rare causes of infertility. Though scarcely ever a problem, this test has the theoretical risk of interrupting an early pregnancy. Therefore, if there is any chance that the patient may be pregnant, it should not be done.

Measurement of blood and urinary hormone levels can help to give evidence whether or not a woman is ovulating. For example, because progesterone levels in the blood rise after ovulation, a blood test taken after ovulation will reflect this. However, many authorities still consider the eudiometrical biopsy the most accurate proof that ovulation has occurred.

There is also a different kind of testing called serologic and cultures testing. Cervical mucus can be cultured for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and other infectious agents.