Step 3. hormonal screening

Be ready that we will put you through a thorough questioning about your menstrual cycle, age at menarche, the duration of bloody discharge, cycle regularity et cetera. We will also be interested in your height, weight and the way these parameters have changed over time. Do not be surprised but the condition of hair and nails, the cleanliness and colour of your skin will be of interest to us as well.

If we do not find anything alarming, then your ovulation – the second phase of the cycle, - and its "sufficiency" are beyond suspicion. Yet if there are any doubts about it or if, for whatever reason, there is a high probability that you will have to undergo IVF, we will ask you to take the following steps:

• Get a blood test for FSH, LH, TSH, prolactin, AMH on the 2^nd-5^th day of the menstrual cycle;
  

• Undergo US with antral follicle count.

Thus we will, probably, without your even noticing it, make you an ovarian passport that is the most important measure of the chance for pregnancy! The AMH and FSH levels, the number of antral follicles and your age will give us a very clear prognosis of your chance for pregnancy as well as of the successfulness of our work. This is one of the most important steps in our fight for pregnancy, which is why we expect a total mutual understanding with you when interpreting the results of this step.

Aside from these data, we will want information about the functioning of your thyroid and pituitary gland. It is important in the sense that we do not want to increase the risk of a non-developing pregnancy.

Be ready that we will completely ignore your basal body temperature charts, should you want to illustrate the relationship between yourself and your thermometer. Judging by these curves of basal temperature, we will not be able to give you any evaluation or prognosis of the "normality" of your cycle as it has already been 10 years since the usage of this method in clinical practice was first advised against.

By the way, the same applies to the post-coital test…

Эти две смешные штуки мы оставим за бортом нашего с вами плавания. И перейдем к более важным