Understanding AMH, Egg Quality, and Fertility Testing Basics

If you’ve ever stared at your lab results and thought, “Wait… is this good or bad?” — this episode is for you.

Today, Jacqueline breaks down the most common (and most confusing) parts of fertility testing in simple, empowering language. From AMH and egg quality to antral follicle counts, HSGs, thyroid levels, and partner testing, you’ll walk away feeling informed, prepared, and a whole lot less alone.

Inside the episode, we cover:
 • What AMH really does — and doesn’t — tell you
• The truth about egg quality and why age matters
• The key tests to ask for when you’re TTC or seeking clarity
• What to do with confusing or “scary” numbers
• How to advocate for yourself at appointments
• Emotional reassurance for the days when testing feels overwhelming

Whether you're just beginning to explore fertility testing or you’re in the thick of treatment, this episode offers clarity, compassion, and the guidance Jacqueline wishes she had early in her own journey.

✨ Resources Mentioned:
• Join Your Fertility Village  — a nurturing community + expert-backed support now accepting Founding Members (with special perks!)
• Freebie: Fertility Testing Basics & Questions to Ask Your Doctor

🎧 Listen + share with someone who needs this today. You are not behind. You are not broken. You are so supported here.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Topic Setup
• 0:37 AMH Myths And What It Measures
• 2:55 Egg Quality Versus Quantity
• 5:15 The Core Fertility Tests
• 9:10 What Tests Can And Can’t Tell You
• 12:25 Questions To Ask Your Doctor

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Are you tired of scrolling your feed only to see the highlight reel version of motherhood? If so, then you're in the right place. Welcome to the Motherhood Intended Podcast. I'm your host, Jaclyn Baird, and I am a passionate mom here to support women like you in their unique journeys to and through motherhood. I have been through it all. We're gonna be talking about things like trying to conceive, infertility, IVF, surrogacy, mom life, and more. It's time to get real about what it takes to be a mom and come together in the fact that things don't always go as planned. So here we go. Hey friend, welcome back to Motherhood Intended. I'm your host, Jacqueline, and today we are diving into one of the most commonly Googled and most commonly misunderstood topics in the trying to conceive world. That's AMH, egg quality, and basic fertility testing. So if you've ever opened your lab results and thought, okay, what does any of this mean? Or if you've been told your AMH is low and immediately panicked, or you're just starting out and want to be proactive, this episode is truly for you. My goal today is to translate all that medical jargon into plain, friendly, let's sit on the couch with a glass of wine and talk about it language, while giving you the clarity and confidence you deserve as you navigate this part of your journey. So let's talk about what AMH actually measures and what it doesn't. So the celebrity of fertility hormones is AMH, which stands for anti-mularian hormone. I hope I said that right. Uh, fun fact I have known what AMH is for a while. I know what your AMH measures, I know the jargon, I know what it's for, I've had mine tested. Never until preparing for this episode did I realize that AMH stands for anti-molarian hormone. So apologies if I'm actually saying that wrong, but you learn something new every day. So here's the truth, and I really want you to let this sink in. AMH tells us about egg quantity, not egg quality. AMH is not a prediction of your ability to get pregnant naturally, and AMH fluctuates and is only one piece of the puzzle. So AMH is made by the small follicles on your ovaries, basically the tiny baby follicles that could eventually grow into a mature egg one day. So when you hear low AMH, it simply means you may not respond as strongly to medications if you're doing IVF. You may have fewer eggs retrieved in a cycle. It does not mean you can't get pregnant. It does not mean you're running out of time tomorrow. And it does not mean your body is failing you. I always say AMH is like checking the pantry before making dinner. Okay? It tells you what's on the shelf, not how good the meal will turn out. Make sense? So let's talk egg quality now. Why it matters so much more than quantity. So this is the part that tends to surprise people. Egg quality, not AMH, is actually the bigger factor in whether an egg will fertilize normally, develop into a healthy embryo, implant in the uterus, and grow into a healthy pregnancy. And the biggest predictor of egg quality, age, unfortunately. And it's not because we're broken, not because we're doing anything wrong, but simply because biology is biology. Every woman is born with all the eggs she'll ever have, millions of them. And as the years pass, eggs are exposed to life. That's stress, inflammation, illnesses, acne medications, environmental toxins, hormones, everything. So over time, more eggs accumulate chromosomal abnormalities. That's why miscarriage risk increases with age, not because we aren't trying hard enough, but because more eggs simply have genetic mistakes. But here's the empowering part and really listen to this. You only need one good egg. And there are always ways to support egg quality, things like lifestyle changes, supplements like CoQ10, managing stress, and focusing on health habits, you can realistically maintain. If you want an entire episode on egg quality boosters, let me know because I am happy to do that. Okay, so moving on. The basic fertility testing you actually need. Let's get practical. If you're in that stage of should I get testing, what should I ask for? Let's walk through those basics. So number one, an AMH blood test. We covered this. It measures your ovarian reserve. It's a simple blood draw and it can be done on any day of your cycle. That's just one simple test, right? One little blood draw, and you can have more information. Number two, day three labs. So these would include FSH, which is your follicle stimulating hormone, estradiol, and LH. So together, these labs will give a snapshot of how hard your brain has to work to communicate with your ovaries. And number three would be an ultrasound for an AFC. That's antral follicle count. So this is a transvaginal ultrasound typically done early in your cycle. The doctor literally counts the little follicles on each ovary, and this is another measure of egg quantity. Number four in this initial fertility testing would be a thyroid panel. Please don't skip this, okay? Thyroid issues are very common in infertility, and I personally know this firsthand. It can be something as simple as going on medication to balance out your levels, and that can make a world of difference for your chances of becoming successfully pregnant. So they're gonna look at TSH, T3, T4, and thyroid antibodies. That's what's ideal to check. Number five, they're gonna look at prolactin because an elevated prolactin can interfere with ovulation. So they're gonna want to make sure that you are ovulating correctly. And then number six, an HSG, which is a hysterolsalpinogram. So this checks your fallopian tubes and your uterine shape. I had a blocked tube and I had no idea until this test. So while we were trying to get pregnant, basically my chances were cut in half because I had a blocked tube that was not releasing anything. So an HSG, it can be a little uncomfortable if you do have a block tube, but it is like you go into the office and it's done. It's nothing crazy, but essentially they will kind of shoot dye into your fallopian tubes and into your uterine cavity. And that allows them to look on their imaging and see if anything's blocked, make sure the shape of your uterus looks okay. Super helpful. And again, you'll have no idea if you have an issue or not until having an HSG done. And then number seven, partner testing. This is so important and gets overlooked way too often. I mean, how often are you hearing the women talk about, like, oh, I'm worried about this or that, or I got this tested, I went for this ultrasound, this lab. And I hear this all the time from friends of mine who are trying to conceive, and then I'm like, well, has your partner gotten tested? Because it takes two to get pregnant. It takes sperm and egg. So if that is the issue, don't wait on it. Okay. A semen analysis is quick, it's non-invasive, and gives critical information about sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm morphology. So, like I said, that's half the puzzle and it's super easy. So, what can these tests tell you? And what can't they tell you? The combined results of all these tests can give you a roadmap of where to go next. They can help your doctor tailor treatment, and they can help you feel informed and empowered. But, and this is so important, tests do not define your worth. Tests do not tell the whole story. Tests do not predict your future or your ability to become a parent. Trust me, I've lived this, I've seen confusing numbers and scary charts, I've watched cycles fail, I've lost pregnancies, I've also defied the odds more than once and had babies in ways I never expected. The point is, these tests give information. They don't write your future. If I could go back to Jacqueline at the start of my infertility journey and tell her all of this, I wish I could because every test, every little bump in the road, even something like my thyroid is a little out of whack and like again was fixed with a medication, which side note, I successfully have gone off of after 10 years of being on it. I would have told myself, stop putting so much weight into every little number and every test. As I just said, these tests give information, but they don't write your future. And I'm living proof of that, okay? I was a big question mark for a long time because even after being on thyroid medication and getting my levels in check, even after having my fallopian tube unblocked, we still weren't getting pregnant. My husband's numbers were great, like everything on paper looked fine. And I should be getting pregnant, and I wasn't. Of course, you know the story. I went on for a million IUIs. I did get pregnant and unfortunately miscarried my twins and ultimately went on and had two successful deliveries. Um, I'll say I pause because successful deliveries, not so much, but I went on to have two babies on earth thanks to IVF. But then I got pregnant on my own, despite what numbers or charts were telling me. I was 33, not even trying, and got pregnant on my own. Again, unfortunately, due to other circumstances of carrying a pregnancy, I lost my daughter in that pregnancy. But the point of me reminding you of this part of my story is that tests don't define your future. Okay, they are information only. Okay, so here's some questions that I want you to ask your doctor. These are a few conversation starters to help you advocate for yourself. Based on my results, what does this mean for my individual chances? This one's important because I think it sets the tone for making sure that your care is individualized to yourself. You're not a number. And if you feel like you're being treated like a number at your doctor, you might want to get a second opinion or seek another doctor. So that's a good conversation starter. Based on my results, what does this mean for my individual chances? Another question: what are my options right now? And what are the pros and cons of each? Do you see anything here that's time sensitive? If I changed nothing and waited six months, how would that change things? And I think that one's important because we can get very tunnel vision when we have a goal set in mind. I know once I started trying to get pregnant, I couldn't stop trying and I couldn't think of much anything else. And I would have done anything to make it happen. What I was missing were all the other ways I could nurture my body, my mind, my overall health to support that goal. And I was very focused on like the fertility track of like who can fix me. And so I think this is a great question. If I changed nothing and waited six months, how would that change things? Because the answer could be a lot of things. It could be, well, waiting six months for somebody who's 37 could mean a lot. Waiting six months for someone who's younger and who seemingly could possibly get pregnant on their own might be helpful. It all depends, but I think it's an important question to bring up. And then a last question is what do you recommend as the next best step? Bring this list with you if you need to. I will share it on our Instagram screenshot it because you deserve clarity, okay? Not confusion. Things are confusing enough. You deserve clarity, and these are great questions to have on hand. So I want to reassure your heart, okay, because this stuff can be very emotional. It's especially when you're in the thick of it. So before we wrap up, I want to speak to this emotional side of all of it. Because these numbers can feel triggering. If your AMH is low, if your AFC isn't where you expected, if your partner's results surprised you, if you're feeling confused or overwhelmed, I want you to know you are not behind. You are not broken. Nothing about this is your fault, and you're allowed to ask for help, seek information, cry about it, be angry, have that glass of wine, be hopeful all at the same time. Your fertility journey is not a straight line. Mine certainly wasn't, but I promise you, knowledge gives you power and community gives you support. If today's episode helped you or brought you clarity, comfort, or even a few aha moments, I would love for you to share it with someone who might be navigating the same path. And if you're craving more support, more resources, and a community that actually gets it, my membership, Your Fertility Village, is built exactly for that. Our January launch is coming soon, but you can join now as a founding member through the end of the year. It's only$7 a month as a founding member price, and you lock that in for life. But come January 1, 2026, that will no longer be available and we will be launching to everyone. You can learn more using the link in the show notes. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions. Send me a DM on Instagram at motherhood underscore intended. Send me an email. Everything's linked in the show notes. Thank you for being here. Thank you for trusting me with this part of your story. And as always, I'm rooting for you every single step of the way.