Family Planning: Predicting the End of Fertility and Start of Menopause

By Lisa Chin Quee

Today, women are postponing having children until their professional goals have been established. The problem with this approach is many believe with today’s technology they won’t have a problem conceiving. But the reality is that for some the wait has cost them their children and for others the process becomes tedious with fertility treatments and more.

But what would it be like if we could predict the end of our individual fertility, the beginning of menopause. Recent findings in a study conducted by the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands says testing the age-specific blood levels of the Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) may help to do just that.

A study of 257 healthy women over 11 years showed that the concentration levels of AMH could successfully predict menopausal age. A model that used age and AMH levels was created. According to the study, “For example, the predicted median age at menopause of a 30 year old woman with an AMH concentration close to 0.15 ng/ml will be 48.8 years. On the other hand, the predicted median age at menopause of a 30 year old woman with an AMH concentration close to 4.38 ng/ml will be 55.3 years.”

A simple test would make family planning so much easier and less of a gamble for women postponing motherhood.