Female fertility tests: what blood tests can and can't tell you

If you are thinking about a fertility test, start with this: no single test tells you whether you will get pregnant. A fertility evaluation is a set of checks, and a blood test covers only part of it. This page explains which parts, which blood tests fit each one, and what none of them can tell you.

AMH

A single blood test for AMH, a marker of ovarian reserve.

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Price checked October 2026. Not available in ND, RI, NY, NJ, MD and HI. We earn a commission on sales.

What a fertility evaluation covers

ACOG says the tests for the female partner focus on ovarian reserve, ovulatory function and structural abnormalities. The same document says male factor is a cause of infertility in 40 to 50% of couples.

ASRM says that when a male partner is involved, both partners should be evaluated at the same time, and that at least one semen analysis should be done at the start. It also says tubal disease is an important cause of infertility and has to be specifically excluded. That is done with imaging, not a blood draw.

So a blood test you order yourself answers two questions at most:

Question	Blood test	What it can show
Did I ovulate this cycle?	Progesterone	Whether ovulation likely happened
How many eggs are left?	AMH (or FSH with estradiol)	A marker of egg supply

Blood tests that fit each question

Progesterone: did ovulation happen

ASRM says a luteal progesterone should generally be taken about one week before the next period is expected. It says a result above 3 ng/mL gives presumptive and sufficient evidence of recent ovulation.

The timing is the hard part. If your cycles are irregular, you may not know when “one week before” is. Our guide to when to test progesterone and the cycle timing helper can help you plan the draw.

AMH and FSH: egg supply

AMH is made by the ovaries, and levels fall as the number of eggs falls. ASRM says AMH can be measured at any point in the menstrual cycle, while basal FSH and estradiol should be measured together on cycle days 2 to 4. It also says AMH has been shown to be superior to FSH and estradiol as an ovarian age marker.

Read more in what the AMH test is and in ovarian reserve testing.

Tests you may not need

ASRM says routine thyroid (TSH) testing is not indicated without symptoms. It says prolactin is not recommended as part of the routine infertility evaluation, but is indicated with galactorrhea (milk discharge), infrequent periods or absent periods. If one of those applies to you, see the prolactin test page.

What these tests can’t show

Ovarian reserve tests describe egg quantity. They are not a prediction of pregnancy.

• ASRM says markers of ovarian reserve are useful as predictors of egg yield after ovarian stimulation, but are poor predictors of reproductive potential independently from age.
• ACOG says using AMH for fertility counseling in women without a diagnosis of infertility is not currently supported by data from high-quality sources.
• In a study of 750 women aged 30 to 44 with no history of infertility who had been trying for 3 months or less, women with low AMH did not have a significantly different chance of conceiving over 6 or 12 cycles than women with normal AMH.

Age is a stronger signal. ACOG and ASRM say fecundity decreases gradually beginning at about age 32 and more rapidly after age 37. ASRM calls female age the single most important predictor of fecundity.

When to see a clinician

Evaluation, as ASRM puts it, should start at 12 months of trying if the female partner is under 35, and at 6 months if she is 35 or older. ACOG says women over 40 warrant more immediate evaluation, and that a woman with a known condition that causes infertility should be offered evaluation right away.

If you are already pregnant, or have had pregnancy losses, talk to a clinician. A hormone test from this site is not the right tool for those situations.

Which test to pick

Choose by the question you have, not by the longest list.

• ProgesteroneFor the question: did I ovulate? $45 See this test at HealthLabs
• AMHFor the question: how is my egg supply? $89 See this test at HealthLabs
• FSH and LHTwo cycle hormones on one order. Timing matters. $59 See this test at HealthLabs

Sold by HealthLabs. Prices checked October 2026. Not available in ND, RI, NY, NJ, MD and HI. We earn a commission on sales.

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