Assess your Fertility

Your fertility specialist will usually start by checking if you are ovulating. They might do this using an ovulation kit, a blood test and/or an ultrasound.

With a series of transvaginal ultrasounds, your specialist can track how your follicles are developing within the ovaries. Ideally, these follicles contain immature eggs - known as primordial follicles - that will mature into leading or dominant follicles over the first half of your cycle.

Your fertility specialist tracks the follicles’ progress using ultrasound. They may also order a series of blood tests to assess your levels of oestrogen and progesterone (female hormones). Together, this information helps determine your fertile window: the best time for you and your partner to have sex.

If it’s convenient, you can have your ultrasound at Monash Ultrasound for Women or Sydney Ultrasound For Women (part of the Monash IVF Group).

Your specialist might refer you for a pelvic ultrasound to assess your reproductive system. This includes the vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and other pelvic structures.

A pelvic ultrasound can help find answers if you’re experiencing:

• heavy, irregular or infrequent periods in premenopausal women
• pelvic pain
• infertility

Pelvic ultrasounds are also used to diagnose polycystic ovaries. For more complex cases, a patient may require a specialised pelvic ultrasound - such as a HyCoSy (used to examine the fallopian tubes and other pelvic organs) or a Sonohysterogram (a study of the uterus).
You may choose to have your pelvic ultrasound at Monash Ultrasound for Women or Sydney Ultrasound For Women (part of the Monash IVF Group).

Fertilisation occurs in the fallopian tubes. So it’s a good idea to make sure they’re healthy if you’re struggling to fall pregnant.

Your fertility specialist can check if your fallopian tubes are blocked or damaged by:

• laparoscopic surgery
• an x-ray
• a tubal patency test (a dye test)

The tubal patency test can be completed through Monash Ultrasound for Women or Sydney Ultrasound For Women (part of the Monash IVF Group).

Male infertility is the second biggest cause of infertility (after a woman’s age). So if you’re struggling to get pregnant, it’s a good idea for the male to get tested, too.

The best way to assess male fertility is through a semen analysis. The test can give accurate information about:

• motility - how many sperm can swim
• morphology - the shape of the sperm
• count - how many individual sperm are present in the sample
• vitality - how healthy the sperm are and their chance of survival

You’ll need a referral from your GP or fertility specialist.
It’s important semen is analysed by trained scientists. Our preferred clinic is Australian Clinical Labs.