Video — Ask the Expert: What is Ovarian Reserve?

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[text on screen]: Ask the Expert. Fertility Authority; Your Most Trusted Source [text on screen]: What is Ovarian Reserve? Dr. Edward Marut, Fertility Centers of Illinois, Medical Director, Highland Park IVF Center: Ovarian reserve is a term used to explain the number of eggs left in a woman’s ovaries, which are obviously depleted when she reaches menopause, normally, sometimes in her 50s. The other things that we look for as far as determining ovarian reserve (and possibly even more accurate than the FSH level, which can change from cycle to cycle) is the ultrasound appearance of the ovaries. It’s said that if small, resting follicles are at least ten in number at the early part of the cycle, that woman’s ovarian reserve is considered normal. That may actually fluctuate from cycle to cycle as well. A third measurement that is coming into some favor is Anti-Mullerian Hormone, which is a hormone that reflects how many follicles and how many eggs are left in the ovaries. That can be drawn at any time in the cycle, and that’s still not completely accepted by everyone but in another piece of the puzzle in terms of determining what a woman’s future ovarian capacity might be.