Vanessa Oly is a women's health and fertility nutritionist, fertility awareness educator and the founder of Root & Remedy Wellness. She hosts the Root & Remedy Podcast and works with women of all ages to help them balance hormones, heal digestive issues, have PMS-free cycles, and get pregnant naturally.
As a 26 year old woman who works in women’s health and will not be ready for kids until her early 30s, I’m getting my fertility tested and I’ll tell you why.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a mother. Coming from a close-knit family of 4 kids and two loving parents, I’ve always been excited to build a similar life and family for myself. My mother was fortunate enough to have 4 kids in 5 years, starting her pregnancy journey at 35 years old (and having me at 40), which is very impressive!
I never felt the pressure to have kids “early”. My parents didn’t struggle on their fertility journey, so it wasn’t something that was on my mind for most of my twenties. I also assumed that I would be in the clear to have kids whenever I wanted considering my mother’s fertility seemed to be very strong.
Since starting my career in women’s health and fertility, my stance on fertility testing and family planning has completely changed. The fact of the matter is that we are struggling with infertility as a society more than ever before. Working every day with women and couples who are on their fertility journey has had a life changing impact on my perspective and now, my personal decisions.
Currently, as many as 1 in 5 women will struggle with infertility and sperm counts in western countries have fallen over 50% within the past 50 years. These statistics are not something to take lightly, especially if you’re like me and know you want a family someday.
The number one thing I have learned working with hundreds of women and couples is to start planning and preparing for your future family as early as you can. The amount of times someone has said to me “I wish I knew all of this when I was younger” is devastating. By “this” they mean understanding their cycles, hormones, fertility, ovulation, family planning and how to optimize for the future they want. The regret of not making their fertility a priority sooner and wondering if it would have made this journey easier is an incredibly heavy weight to bear.
We are very reactive instead of proactive when it comes to fertility. We are taught to only care about or pay attention to our cycles when we are ready to get pregnant. This is terrible advice and is one of the main reasons that 80% of women who are childless when they reach the end of their fertile years, did not want to be childless. It was not a voluntary decision. These women are mourning the loss of a family they never had and it is absolutely heartbreaking.
I do not want anyone to be in that position, so I am here to offer a completely different perspective.
If you know you want a family someday and it is incredibly important to you, you need to get your fertility tested now to ensure that you have the luxury to wait. Getting your fertility tested in your twenties can help set you up for success to build a family whenever YOU are ready. It will prepare you with the tools and education you need to optimize fertility, understand your cycle and have access to additional resources if you should ever need them.
Since I am 26 years old and in a new relationship, I am nowhere near ready to start my family. So, I’m getting my fertility tested now to give me the information I need to make an educated decision about things like egg freezing, family planning and more.
At this point, you may be wondering, how do you start fertility testing?
First, let’s begin with the free stuff. Make an appointment with your medical doctor, tell them you want to check in on your overall health and fertility, and ask them to run these markers (you will need to get these done on day 3-5 of your period):
- Thyroid panel: TSH, Total and Free T4, Total and Free T3, Reverse T3, Anti-TPO, Anti-thyroglobulin
- Fasting glucose
- Fasting insulin
- Iron panel: TIBC, ferritin, serum iron, transferrin saturation %
- B12
- Vitamin D
- Estrogen (estradiol)
- Free & Total Testosterone
- FSH
- LH
- Blood chemistry & CBC
- Cholesterol & lipid panel
In Canada, most, if not all of these should be free to run. However, it’s important to know that you need to be off of hormonal birth control in order to get accurate results. If you are on hormonal birth control, read this article to see what markers to test and when.
At this same appointment, you can ask if you are eligible or able to do more in depth fertility testing and get these additional markers done:
- Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH)
- Antral Follicle Count (AFC)
Most often, you need to have already been trying to conceive with no success for 6-12 months to qualify. Since I am not actively trying, I was not eligible and will be going to a private clinic to get this testing done, which I am anticipating will cost me about $300.
In Part Two, I will be sharing my experience of getting both bloodwork and a vaginal ultrasound done to check the status of my ovaries and overall fertility. I am very excited (and a little nervous) for this process and to see my results, all of which I will share with you. I’m hoping that sharing my journey openly will help you feel less alone and afraid if you’re curious about fertility and the process of testing.
Remember, it is always better to know. Ignorance is not bliss in the world of fertility and you will never regret putting in the effort to know your options and make your own decisions rather than having them forced upon you.
You can connect with Vanessa on instagram @rootremedywellness and learn more about working with her at www.rootandremedywellness.com