What is an ovarian reserve and how to identify it?

The twenty-first century is the time of development and progress. Everyone is in a hurry, and you do not want to lose time to stop. It is for this reason that starting children at a young age today is unfashionable. On the family planning young couples are not thinking about 25-30 years. However, after 30 years, conceiving a child becomes much more difficult.

Why is nature hurrying us? What is the reason?

The older the girl becomes, the more difficult it becomes for her to become pregnant. The thing is that the number of eggs in the ovaries decreases with age.

When a girl is born, the number of follicles in her ovaries reaches two million. It would seem that a huge figure, but with age, their number is steadily decreasing. By the time of maturation of the follicles there are only about four hundred thousand. And not every one of them can cause the development of the egg, which will lead to the fertilization of a woman. After thirty years, the number of active follicles begins to decrease markedly. It is for this reason that getting pregnant becomes more difficult.

The concept of an ovarian reserve

Ovarian reserve - the number of ovules in the follicles of the female reproductive system.

Every month in the body of a girl a certain number of follicles begins to increase in size, and within them the eggs are actively ripening. They are looking for opportunities for fertilization, but only one of them will be able to achieve its goal. In this case, pregnancy occurs.

Physiological processes of the body

The ability of a woman to become pregnant depends on her fertility (the possibility of conception). Unfortunately, not every month there is the possibility of the birth of a new life. The highest chances of getting pregnant with healthy and active girls are up to twenty-five years old. This is the best period for planning offspring. Although even at this age, only every third menstrual cycle makes it possible to become pregnant. After twenty-five years, the chances are significantly less, by the age of forty, the percentage is reduced to five.

Conception and capacity of eggs

Ovarian reserve is steadily decreasing from year to year. Therefore, sometimes even attempts to become pregnant with IVF (in vitro fertilization) and stimulation of the body remain unsuccessful.

Reduction of the ovarian reserve

1. The reasons for the decrease in the level of follicles and oocytes in them can be:
2. Age is the main and the main reason. If a woman is over 25 years of age, the chances of becoming pregnant decrease year by year.
3. Genetic problems, characterized by premature decrease in quantity and deterioration in the quality of eggs. Ovarian reserve of ovaries is depleted before biologically conditioned time, that is, before thirty five years.
4. Postponed diseases and surgeries. A low ovarian reserve is often associated with previous ovarian surgery (for example, cyst removal), endometriosis treatment, uterine myoma.
5. Intoxication of the body (excessive smoking, use of alcoholic beverages and narcotic substances).
6. Thyroid gland disorders.
7. Development of pathogenic microflora in the intestine (dysbacteriosis).
8. Continued abstinence.

Methods for determining the reserve of ovaries

Evaluation of the ovarian reserve is carried out in several ways:

1. Ultrasonography. With this simple procedure, all parameters of the ovaries are measured, including their volume and the number of follicles that they contain. For a healthy woman of childbearing age, their number should vary from 10 to 30 pieces. The study is conducted at the very beginning of the menstrual cycle (on the 1-5th day).
2. Determination of hormonal characteristics of blood (analysis). Ovarian reserve is measured in the first days of the menstrual cycle (1-4 days). The tests are done several times, in order to establish the dynamics. If the amount of a certain hormone decreases, it says that the ovarian reserve is reduced.
3. Determination of the level of inhibin B and anti-Muller hormone. This method gives the most accurate results, but in Russia it is only at the development stage and is not yet applied in practice.

Preparation for the study

Before passing the necessary tests a woman should take into account some conditions:

• The study is not carried out if a woman suffers from a disease that occurs in an acute form.
• At least three days before the procedure will have to exclude the power and intense physical activity.
• Before the procedure, you must refrain from smoking for at least an hour.

Is it possible to become pregnant with a low level of ovarian reserve?

First of all, the level of the ovarian reserve of the female body is affected by age, so the sooner you start planning a pregnancy, the better. If the doctor sets a low stock of follicles, then the chances of getting pregnant are not great. In such situations, a woman is often diagnosed with "infertility."

However, even if the natural data of women are depleted, science has developed ways to help families who want to have a child. To date, methods such as:

1. IVF (in vitro fertilization).
2. Donation of eggs.

The application of the first method is possible if the woman's ovarian reserve has not yet reached the minimum limit. In this case, large doses of stimulants are used, but the effectiveness of the method is not very high. The reason is that even the artificial increase in the number of eggs is often insufficient, so the embryo does not take root well and the possibility of its development is small. In cases where IVF is used for women over forty years of age, the risk of complications and miscarriages is greatly increased.

The second method involves the use of eggs of a female donor. Under the influence of stimulants, her body produces the necessary number of eggs that are extracted from her body. After that they are fertilized with the seminal fluid of the patient's husband and placed in the mother's body. Such a pregnancy, as a rule, is well tolerated, despite the fact that biological material is alien.

Is it possible to increase the level of follicle supply and ovarian indicators?

The stock of follicles in each female organism is individual. It is laid genetically by nature itself, when the child is still being formed in the womb of the mother. It is impossible to increase its size. From the moment of birth and throughout life, a woman loses eggs every day and with them the opportunity to conceive a child. When the body's stores are depleted, the natural process of menopause begins.

Every year the body changes, its aging takes place, but there are ways to stop the time and delay the moment of the onset of menopause. To do this, methods of stimulation of the ovaries are used. They begin to function in a super-mode, due to which they produce a larger number of oocytes. This method is used only if a woman is diagnosed with "infertility", as additional stimulation of the ovaries will lead to their exhaustion.

Various methods of stimulation are used. Among the most popular are: acupuncture, homeopathy, peptide therapy and some others.

Thus, despite the fact that fashion and society dictate their rules, do not postpone for later what nature itself is prepared for today. When planning a pregnancy, do not delay this process for a long time.