Antral follicle count

[Mayaudrey]

Hi I'm just wondering as to the significance of the Antral follicle count when undergoing fertility treatment? I'm 27 years old and was told yesterday I have Antral follicle count of 12 apparently this is within the normal range. But when I've researched anything below 10 is considered to be an indicator of low ovarian reserve? So is 12 quite low for my age and will this have any signicance for me in terms of fertility meds and IVF? I don't know if I'm just worrying unnecessarily so thought I'd check with people who might have more experience than me

Thanks

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Mayaudrey. An antral follicle count is done to determine how successful the IVF stimulation drugs will react with you, and also what protocol to use. A perfect count would be 15 or more, but a count of 12 should be enough to work with. The less you have the harder it is to stimulate your ovaries. You should be OK with that reading. Good luck! Diane

[Mayaudrey in reply to DianeArnold]

Thank you Dianne that has made me feel a lot better. I was a bit worried it was quite low for my age. Thank you for replying xxxx

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK in reply to Mayaudrey]

Hi. Pleasure! Many women think that we only produce 1 or 2 follicles each month, when in fact it is many more, which shows our ovaries are active! It's just that only 1 maybe 2 will grow large enough for an egg to be able to get out of. During IVF you will be stimulated so that those follicles grow large enough for eggs to get into - normally just the 1 or 2 do. After stimulation, you will be scanned to see when the largest follicle is at least 17mm. You then have a trigger shot to release eggs into the follicles ready for egg collection 36hrs later. All clever stuff! Diane