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November 20, 2025 14 mins

If you’ve ever stared at your lab results and thought, “Wait… is this good or bad?” — this episode is for you.

Today, Jacqueline breaks down the most common (and most confusing) parts of fertility testing in simple, empowering language. From AMH and egg quality to antral follicle counts, HSGs, thyroid levels, and partner testing, you’ll walk away feeling informed, prepared, and a whole lot less alone.

Inside the episode, we cover:
 • What AMH really does — and doesn’t — tell you
• The truth about egg quality and why age matters
• The key tests to ask for when you’re TTC or seeking clarity
• What to do with confusing or “scary” numbers
• How to advocate for yourself at appointments
• Emotional reassurance for the days when testing feels overwhelming

Whether you're just beginning to explore fertility testing or you’re in the thick of treatment, this episode offers clarity, compassion, and the guidance Jacqueline wishes she had early in her own journey.

✨ Resources Mentioned:
• Join Your Fertility Village  — a nurturing community + expert-backed support now accepting Founding Members (with special perks!)
• Freebie: Fertility Testing Basics & Questions to Ask Your Doctor

🎧 Listen + share with someone who needs this today. You are not behind. You are not broken. You are so supported here.

Support the show

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💛 You don’t have to do this alone. Join Your Fertility Village — a safe, supportive community for women on their fertility journey. 🌻__________________________________________________________________________________

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Are you tired of scrolling your feed only to see
the highlight reel version ofmotherhood?
If so, then you're in the rightplace.
Welcome to the MotherhoodIntended Podcast.
I'm your host, Jaclyn Baird, andI am a passionate mom here to
support women like you in theirunique journeys to and through
motherhood.
I have been through it all.
We're gonna be talking aboutthings like trying to conceive,

(00:22):
infertility, IVF, surrogacy, momlife, and more.
It's time to get real about whatit takes to be a mom and come
together in the fact that thingsdon't always go as planned.
So here we go.
Hey friend, welcome back toMotherhood Intended.
I'm your host, Jacqueline, andtoday we are diving into one of
the most commonly Googled andmost commonly misunderstood

(00:44):
topics in the trying to conceiveworld.
That's AMH, egg quality, andbasic fertility testing.
So if you've ever opened yourlab results and thought, okay,
what does any of this mean?
Or if you've been told your AMHis low and immediately panicked,
or you're just starting out andwant to be proactive, this

(01:05):
episode is truly for you.
My goal today is to translateall that medical jargon into
plain, friendly, let's sit onthe couch with a glass of wine
and talk about it language,while giving you the clarity and
confidence you deserve as younavigate this part of your
journey.
So let's talk about what AMHactually measures and what it

(01:28):
doesn't.
So the celebrity of fertilityhormones is AMH, which stands
for anti-mularian hormone.
I hope I said that right.
Uh, fun fact I have known whatAMH is for a while.
I know what your AMH measures, Iknow the jargon, I know what
it's for, I've had mine tested.
Never until preparing for thisepisode did I realize that AMH

(01:51):
stands for anti-molarianhormone.
So apologies if I'm actuallysaying that wrong, but you learn
something new every day.
So here's the truth, and Ireally want you to let this sink
in.
AMH tells us about egg quantity,not egg quality.
AMH is not a prediction of yourability to get pregnant
naturally, and AMH fluctuatesand is only one piece of the

(02:14):
puzzle.
So AMH is made by the smallfollicles on your ovaries,
basically the tiny babyfollicles that could eventually
grow into a mature egg one day.
So when you hear low AMH, itsimply means you may not respond
as strongly to medications ifyou're doing IVF.
You may have fewer eggsretrieved in a cycle.

(02:35):
It does not mean you can't getpregnant.
It does not mean you're runningout of time tomorrow.
And it does not mean your bodyis failing you.
I always say AMH is likechecking the pantry before
making dinner.
Okay?
It tells you what's on theshelf, not how good the meal
will turn out.
Make sense?
So let's talk egg quality now.

(02:57):
Why it matters so much more thanquantity.
So this is the part that tendsto surprise people.
Egg quality, not AMH, isactually the bigger factor in
whether an egg will fertilizenormally, develop into a healthy
embryo, implant in the uterus,and grow into a healthy
pregnancy.
And the biggest predictor of eggquality, age, unfortunately.

(03:20):
And it's not because we'rebroken, not because we're doing
anything wrong, but simplybecause biology is biology.
Every woman is born with all theeggs she'll ever have, millions
of them.
And as the years pass, eggs areexposed to life.
That's stress, inflammation,illnesses, acne medications,
environmental toxins, hormones,everything.

(03:43):
So over time, more eggsaccumulate chromosomal
abnormalities.
That's why miscarriage riskincreases with age, not because
we aren't trying hard enough,but because more eggs simply
have genetic mistakes.
But here's the empowering partand really listen to this.
You only need one good egg.

(04:05):
And there are always ways tosupport egg quality, things like
lifestyle changes, supplementslike CoQ10, managing stress, and
focusing on health habits, youcan realistically maintain.
If you want an entire episode onegg quality boosters, let me
know because I am happy to dothat.
Okay, so moving on.
The basic fertility testing youactually need.

(04:29):
Let's get practical.
If you're in that stage ofshould I get testing, what
should I ask for?
Let's walk through those basics.
So number one, an AMH bloodtest.
We covered this.
It measures your ovarianreserve.
It's a simple blood draw and itcan be done on any day of your
cycle.
That's just one simple test,right?

(04:50):
One little blood draw, and youcan have more information.
Number two, day three labs.
So these would include FSH,which is your follicle
stimulating hormone, estradiol,and LH.
So together, these labs willgive a snapshot of how hard your
brain has to work to communicatewith your ovaries.

(05:11):
And number three would be anultrasound for an AFC.
That's antral follicle count.
So this is a transvaginalultrasound typically done early
in your cycle.
The doctor literally counts thelittle follicles on each ovary,
and this is another measure ofegg quantity.
Number four in this initialfertility testing would be a

(05:32):
thyroid panel.
Please don't skip this, okay?
Thyroid issues are very commonin infertility, and I personally
know this firsthand.
It can be something as simple asgoing on medication to balance
out your levels, and that canmake a world of difference for
your chances of becomingsuccessfully pregnant.

(05:52):
So they're gonna look at TSH,T3, T4, and thyroid antibodies.
That's what's ideal to check.
Number five, they're gonna lookat prolactin because an elevated
prolactin can interfere withovulation.
So they're gonna want to makesure that you are ovulating
correctly.
And then number six, an HSG,which is a hysterolsalpinogram.

(06:15):
So this checks your fallopiantubes and your uterine shape.
I had a blocked tube and I hadno idea until this test.
So while we were trying to getpregnant, basically my chances
were cut in half because I had ablocked tube that was not
releasing anything.
So an HSG, it can be a littleuncomfortable if you do have a

(06:36):
block tube, but it is like yougo into the office and it's
done.
It's nothing crazy, butessentially they will kind of
shoot dye into your fallopiantubes and into your uterine
cavity.
And that allows them to look ontheir imaging and see if
anything's blocked, make surethe shape of your uterus looks
okay.
Super helpful.
And again, you'll have no ideaif you have an issue or not

(06:59):
until having an HSG done.
And then number seven, partnertesting.
This is so important and getsoverlooked way too often.
I mean, how often are youhearing the women talk about,
like, oh, I'm worried about thisor that, or I got this tested, I
went for this ultrasound, thislab.
And I hear this all the timefrom friends of mine who are

(07:19):
trying to conceive, and then I'mlike, well, has your partner
gotten tested?
Because it takes two to getpregnant.
It takes sperm and egg.
So if that is the issue, don'twait on it.
Okay.
A semen analysis is quick, it'snon-invasive, and gives critical
information about sperm count,sperm motility, and sperm
morphology.

(07:40):
So, like I said, that's half thepuzzle and it's super easy.
So, what can these tests tellyou?
And what can't they tell you?
The combined results of allthese tests can give you a
roadmap of where to go next.
They can help your doctor tailortreatment, and they can help you
feel informed and empowered.
But, and this is so important,tests do not define your worth.

(08:05):
Tests do not tell the wholestory.
Tests do not predict your futureor your ability to become a
parent.
Trust me, I've lived this, I'veseen confusing numbers and scary
charts, I've watched cyclesfail, I've lost pregnancies,
I've also defied the odds morethan once and had babies in ways
I never expected.
The point is, these tests giveinformation.

(08:27):
They don't write your future.
If I could go back to Jacquelineat the start of my infertility
journey and tell her all ofthis, I wish I could because
every test, every little bump inthe road, even something like my
thyroid is a little out of whackand like again was fixed with a
medication, which side note, Isuccessfully have gone off of

(08:50):
after 10 years of being on it.
I would have told myself, stopputting so much weight into
every little number and everytest.
As I just said, these tests giveinformation, but they don't
write your future.
And I'm living proof of that,okay?
I was a big question mark for along time because even after

(09:12):
being on thyroid medication andgetting my levels in check, even
after having my fallopian tubeunblocked, we still weren't
getting pregnant.
My husband's numbers were great,like everything on paper looked
fine.
And I should be gettingpregnant, and I wasn't.
Of course, you know the story.
I went on for a million IUIs.
I did get pregnant andunfortunately miscarried my

(09:34):
twins and ultimately went on andhad two successful deliveries.
Um, I'll say I pause becausesuccessful deliveries, not so
much, but I went on to have twobabies on earth thanks to IVF.
But then I got pregnant on myown, despite what numbers or
charts were telling me.
I was 33, not even trying, andgot pregnant on my own.

(10:00):
Again, unfortunately, due toother circumstances of carrying
a pregnancy, I lost my daughterin that pregnancy.
But the point of me remindingyou of this part of my story is
that tests don't define yourfuture.
Okay, they are information only.
Okay, so here's some questionsthat I want you to ask your
doctor.

(10:20):
These are a few conversationstarters to help you advocate
for yourself.
Based on my results, what doesthis mean for my individual
chances?
This one's important because Ithink it sets the tone for
making sure that your care isindividualized to yourself.
You're not a number.
And if you feel like you'rebeing treated like a number at
your doctor, you might want toget a second opinion or seek

(10:42):
another doctor.
So that's a good conversationstarter.
Based on my results, what doesthis mean for my individual
chances?

Another question (10:50):
what are my options right now?
And what are the pros and consof each?
Do you see anything here that'stime sensitive?
If I changed nothing and waitedsix months, how would that
change things?
And I think that one's importantbecause we can get very tunnel
vision when we have a goal setin mind.

(11:11):
I know once I started trying toget pregnant, I couldn't stop
trying and I couldn't think ofmuch anything else.
And I would have done anythingto make it happen.
What I was missing were all theother ways I could nurture my
body, my mind, my overall healthto support that goal.
And I was very focused on likethe fertility track of like who

(11:33):
can fix me.
And so I think this is a greatquestion.
If I changed nothing and waitedsix months, how would that
change things?
Because the answer could be alot of things.
It could be, well, waiting sixmonths for somebody who's 37
could mean a lot.
Waiting six months for someonewho's younger and who seemingly

(11:54):
could possibly get pregnant ontheir own might be helpful.
It all depends, but I think it'san important question to bring
up.
And then a last question is whatdo you recommend as the next
best step?
Bring this list with you if youneed to.
I will share it on our Instagramscreenshot it because you
deserve clarity, okay?
Not confusion.

(12:14):
Things are confusing enough.
You deserve clarity, and theseare great questions to have on
hand.
So I want to reassure yourheart, okay, because this stuff
can be very emotional.
It's especially when you're inthe thick of it.
So before we wrap up, I want tospeak to this emotional side of
all of it.
Because these numbers can feeltriggering.
If your AMH is low, if your AFCisn't where you expected, if

(12:39):
your partner's results surprisedyou, if you're feeling confused
or overwhelmed, I want you toknow you are not behind.
You are not broken.
Nothing about this is yourfault, and you're allowed to ask
for help, seek information, cryabout it, be angry, have that
glass of wine, be hopeful all atthe same time.

(13:01):
Your fertility journey is not astraight line.
Mine certainly wasn't, but Ipromise you, knowledge gives you
power and community gives yousupport.
If today's episode helped you orbrought you clarity, comfort, or
even a few aha moments, I wouldlove for you to share it with
someone who might be navigatingthe same path.
And if you're craving moresupport, more resources, and a

(13:25):
community that actually gets it,my membership, Your Fertility
Village, is built exactly forthat.
Our January launch is comingsoon, but you can join now as a
founding member through the endof the year.
It's only$7 a month as afounding member price, and you
lock that in for life.
But come January 1, 2026, thatwill no longer be available and

(13:49):
we will be launching toeveryone.
You can learn more using thelink in the show notes.
Feel free to reach out to mewith any questions.
Send me a DM on Instagram atmotherhood underscore intended.
Send me an email.
Everything's linked in the shownotes.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for trusting me withthis part of your story.
And as always, I'm rooting foryou every single step of the
way.
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