In short
AMH estimates how many eggs remain, not how good they are, and it cannot predict whether you will conceive. Here is what AMH, FSH, LH, prolactin and oestradiol each contribute, and when in the cycle each is measured.
On your report
AMH (Anti-Müllerian Hormone), FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone), LH (Luteinizing Hormone), Prolactin +3 more
On this page
01
What AMH is measuring
Anti-Mullerian hormone is produced by small developing follicles in the ovaries, so the amount circulating reflects how many of those follicles are present. It is used mainly alongside other tests to make decisions about treating female infertility, and it can check how many eggs you have left in your ovaries.
The crucial limit is stated plainly in the test's own guidance: it cannot tell you about the health of your eggs or predict whether you will be able to get pregnant. AMH is a measure of quantity, not quality — and since egg quality falls with age largely independently of quantity, a reassuring AMH at 40 does not undo the effect of being 40.
02
High and low results
A low AMH suggests your egg supply is shrinking and you may have difficulty getting pregnant, and it predicts a weaker response to the medicines used to stimulate the ovaries in fertility treatment. That prediction about treatment response is what the test does best, and it is why fertility clinics measure it before planning a cycle.
A high AMH indicates more eggs available and a good potential response to fertility medicines. It is also a feature of polycystic ovary syndrome — a high level is a sign that you may have the condition, though the test alone cannot diagnose it. A very high AMH before treatment additionally flags a greater risk of over-response, which changes the drug dose chosen.
03
What AMH does not do
AMH cannot predict when you will actually reach menopause, and it is not a useful test of fertility for someone who is not trying to conceive or planning treatment. Marketed as a standalone check of fertility, it produces a great deal of anxiety in people with a low result who go on to conceive without difficulty, and false reassurance in people with a high result who do not.
Levels are lowered by hormonal contraception, so a result taken while on the pill or with a hormonal coil can understate the true value and is best repeated after stopping. Unlike most reproductive hormones, AMH varies little across the cycle, so it can be drawn on any day.
04
FSH, LH and oestradiol
FSH is the pituitary's signal telling follicles to grow, and it is read together with oestradiol on day 2 or 3 of the cycle. As the ovarian pool shrinks, less feedback reaches the pituitary and FSH climbs — so a raised early-cycle FSH points the same way as a low AMH. Oestradiol must be read alongside it, because a high early oestradiol can suppress FSH and hide a raised value.
LH triggers ovulation. Measured in the early cycle it contributes to the assessment of polycystic ovary syndrome, and measured mid-cycle its surge marks the fertile window, which is what home ovulation kits detect. A progesterone taken about seven days before the expected period is the simplest confirmation that ovulation actually happened.
05
Prolactin, thyroid, and the rest of the picture
Prolactin and TSH are included because both disturb ovulation and both are treatable. A raised prolactin can stop periods and is a genuinely correctable cause; it also rises with stress, nipple stimulation, some medicines and a recent meal, so a borderline result is repeated on a quiet morning before being investigated. Thyroid disease in either direction affects cycles and early pregnancy.
No hormone panel is complete on its own. An antral follicle count on ultrasound complements AMH, tubal patency is assessed separately, and roughly half of difficulty conceiving involves a male factor, which a semen analysis assesses far more directly than any female hormone. A panel is one input into a conversation, not a verdict.
Values mentioned in this story
Each one opens a visual guide with its normal range and what moves it — upload a report and we place your own numbers on the same scale.
Sources
- Anti-Mullerian Hormone Test — MedlinePlusmedlineplus.gov
- Infertility — MedlinePlusmedlineplus.gov
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