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Jun 24, 2008 12:18 am US/Eastern
New Test Helps Women 'Plan Ahead'
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Like many women today Cristy McNally wants a family - but just wants to wait a while before starting one.
"I'm 28 years old and I'm planning on delaying having children probably until my late 30s," McNally says.
Doctors say having children gets more difficult with time as most women w reach peak fertility in their early twenties. After that fertility starts to wane according to Dr. Juergen Eisermann, a fertility specialist from the South Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine in South Miami.
"That decline will become more rapid after the mid-thirties," Dr. Eisermann says, "And I tend to call starting at age 35 the fourth quarter of the game so-to-speak."
Now a new simple blood test, called 'Plan Ahead', may help women better plan their futures and their families. By measuring three critical hormones in the bloodstream a score is calculated which gives doctors an estimate of the number of eggs remaining in a woman's ovaries, and the healthiness of those eggs.
According to Dr. Eisermann the 'Plan Ahead' test will helps older women know how much time they have left, and helps younger women well 'plan ahead'.
"If having a child is not top priority for you right now," said Eisermann, "It might make sense for you to have this test. To see how much time you have left. How fast is the clock ticking?"
McNally took the test.
"I'm actually where I need to be for my age group, so...I can delay having children," she says.
Her clock is ticking, but time isn't running out just yet.
Any gynecologist can order and administer the test for you. It costs about $350 and the results take about 2 weeks. Some experts are concerned the company is capitalizing on infertility anxieties of career-minded women. But others say the information makes it well worth the price.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THE 'PLAN AHEAD' TEST: Dr. Juergen Eisermann can be reached at:
The South Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine 7300 SW 62nd Place
4th Floor
Miami, Florida 33143
(305) 662-7901
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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