AMH, IUI, IVF, PCOS — fertility medicine comes with its own vocabulary. Here's a clear breakdown of the terms you'll hear most.
matrea editorial team
Women's Health Editors
Walking into a fertility appointment for the first time can feel like landing in a foreign country. The terminology is dense, the stakes are high, and it can be hard to ask questions when you don't even know what you don't know.
Cycle day (CD): Refers to which day of your menstrual cycle you're on. Day 1 is the first full day of your period. Many fertility tests and treatments are timed to specific cycle days.
AMH (Anti-Müllerian Hormone): A blood test that measures ovarian reserve — how many eggs you have remaining. It doesn't tell you about egg quality, but gives doctors a sense of how you might respond to stimulation.
FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone): Another marker of ovarian reserve. Elevated FSH on cycle day 3 can indicate diminished ovarian reserve.
IUI (Intrauterine Insemination): A procedure in which washed sperm is placed directly into the uterus around the time of ovulation. Less invasive and less expensive than IVF, often used as a first-line treatment.
IVF (In Vitro Fertilization): Eggs are retrieved from the ovaries after hormone stimulation, fertilized with sperm in a lab, and the resulting embryos are transferred to the uterus.
PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome): A hormonal condition affecting roughly 1 in 10 women of reproductive age. It can affect ovulation regularity and is a common cause of fertility challenges.
Endometriosis: A condition in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus. It can affect fertility and cause significant pain, and is often underdiagnosed.
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