We all know that the onset of the menopause usually heralds a stop to a woman's fertility. This is because it is the culmination of a woman's reproductive years.
For women who want to put off having a baby till they have established themselves in a career this poses a problem as there is no set date on which one can predict when menopause will occur for that particular woman, as the age of menopause varies from woman to woman and also according to other factors in life, including genetic and health.
Add to this the fact that fertility begins to drop as much as a decade before the menopause, and you have more uncertainty as to whether you will be able to conceive if you put off having a baby too much.
A research unit in Tehran, Iran, led by Dr Fahimeh Ramezani has now developed a new test which can predict the age of the onset of menopause to within a third of a year, which is pretty accurate.
The blood test measures the levels of a hormone produced in the ovaries called anti-Mullerian Hormone or AMH. This hormone controls the development of eggs. From the levels of AMH, the researchers estimated the age of menopause using mathematical models that they had developed.
Using this information, fertility experts can then calculate roughly when a woman will run out of eggs.
This knowledge is especially crucial to identify the women who are likely to go through an early menopause and thus have a reduction in fertility earlier than the norm.
Although this information is crucial, there are other reasons for infertility, including the partner's sperm, genetics and other medical conditions.
However once this test becomes widely available, it will give women one more tool in order to plan their families and prepare for the menopause.
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For more information on fertility and the menopause and tips to prepare for the menopause make sure you take a look at the Natural Menopause website where you'll find natural remedies to manage the common symptoms of perimenopause and the menopause.
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