The Benefits of Medical Fertility Tests vs. At-home Fertility Tests
The age old question, “Do at-home fertility tests work?”. While they are functional, they are not informational nor do they provide in-depth information on the factors affecting “her fertility” or “his fertility”. We outlined a few points on the benefits and disadvantages of both at-home fertility tests and medical fertility tests.
At-home Fertility Tests Benefits and Disadvantages
Benefits
- The convenience of being at your home while testing
- A test could be correct and give you an idea of what is contributing to your infertility but this will never be as accurate as a blood test.
- This method is cheaper than medical fertility tests but this comes with the cost of not knowing information specific to your fertility. You might find that you’re fertility levels are perfectly fine, but all you need to do is just take something like these pills to get pregnant. If you are worried about anything though, then it would be a good idea to talk to your provider first.
Disadvantages
- At home tests do not provide all the information needed to determine what a patient’s fertility issues are nor does it look at factors that could be contributing to the woman’s infertility.
- Women with different syndromes, like polycystic ovarian syndrome, may not ovulate each month and an at-home test would not be able to tell the user that.
- At home tests also don’t explain why miscarriages and stillbirths occur. It is better to meet with a reproductive endocrinologist that can assess the person’s whole case and determine why the person is having fertility issues.
- At home tests don’t look at the male fertility component of getting pregnant. It is common for women not to get pregnant because their partner has an issue with his sperm. Another disadvantage is that some tests may claim to be effective, but they aren’t. Going through infertility is very stressful, so it is better to get information from a reliable source like a provider.
On another note, a lot of women use ovulation prediction kits or mobile apps to track their ovulation. According to Dr. Stegmann, most apps are not accurate about when a woman’s exact ovulation period is and can only provide an estimated range. This can cause a person to be having sex during the wrong window for extended amounts of time. This could later lead the person to think that they have fertility issues when they don’t. It could also cause a person to waste a lot of time instead of conceiving a child.
Medical Fertility Tests Benefits and Disadvantages
Benefits
- A reproductive endocrinologist can assess different factors and determine why the person is having fertility issues.
- The tests are reliable, valid, and provide you with more information related to your fertility.
- A provider will be able to give you comprehensive care and discuss with you in-person what your next steps should be for treatments for infertility.
Disadvantages
- Less convenient and more time consuming. Aspire has developed a platform called “Aspire Connect” to make scheduling an appointment easy and to facilitate communication with your provider.
- Cost of medical fertility tests vary but are worth the investment to properly diagnose your fertility issues.
While the at-home test may provide useful information, in many instances, you will end up needing more information and a fertility expert to guide your journey. Schedule an appointment with one of our fertility experts and or email Aspire with any questions. You can also schedule an appointment at either clinic online or call the Houston Clinic at (713) 425-3003 and the Dallas Clinic at (214) 414-3806.
