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| Good ovarian reserve in a recombinant gonadotropinstimulated ovary studied with 3D. The use of orthogonal planes and 3D rendering allows a much better visualization of the antral follicles. This image shows the typical asynchrony. courtesy : jaypeejournals.com |
Antral follicles
are small follicles ( ranging in size from 2-7 mm) which are present in your
ovaries , and can be counted using a vaginal ultrasound scan during the earlier
part of your menstrual cycle (day 2 –day 5). These are the follicles which
develop in response to the FSH injections given during an IVF cycle. The number
of antral follicles in your ovary gives a rough estimate of the number of eggs
that will be retrieved from your ovaries in the IVF cycle. The actual egg yield will
also depend on the dosage of FSH used to stimulate your ovaries – and how well
your doctor monitors your superovulation ! The greater the number of antral
follicles , the greater will be the egg yield. A woman with a normal antral
follicle count usually has good ovarian reserve and is more likely to produce a
decent amount of eggs which are of good quality . This is why her chances of
success with IVF are high too. Women with poor ovarian reserve tend to respond poorly
to ovarian stimulation drugs , and their egg yield can be low. They have a poorer
chance of success with IVF.
What is a normal AFC ? How many is normal and how few is low AFC?
ReplyDeleteIn the field of IVF, AFC above 15 is considered as good. AFC count of more than 30 is considered to be too high and such high counts are normally found in PCOD patients. Below 5 is considered to be very low !
DeleteThis kind of demarcating AFC into normal, high and low came only after the invent of IVF. For a normal woman who do not need IVF, there is no need for worrying about the AFC count. If she is ovulating every month then there is a decent chance of pregnancy.
During IVF, the chance of pregnancy increases if the ovaries carry more AFC. I do not know your actual problem. But if you have low AFC and of young maternal age, if you undergo IVF in some experienced center (who is able to give the best fertilization rate !) then your chance of success is still bright ! But if you are of advanced maternal age with poor AFC count, the chance of success is invariably low. Good Luck !