Researchers at Cardiff University have unveiled a DIY test to help women maximize their chances of motherhood.
The ‘fertility thermometer’ uses a woman’s answers to 22 questions about age, lifestyle, and health to assess the state of her fertility.
Each answer is rated blue, yellow, orange, or red, depending on how much it affects the odds of pregnancy, with red ratings being the most damaging.
The woman then adds up her score for each colour before reading advice on what she needs to do to optimize her chances of having a family.
The FertiSTAT test, which was unveiled at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology’s annual conference, was developed after more and more women delay motherhood until they are in their 30s or 40s.
In Britain, the average age for a woman to have her first child has risen from 24 to 30 since the early 1970s.
But fertility plummets with age, while the risk of pregnancy complications rises sharply.
Dr Jacky Boivin, who designed the test with colleague Laura Bunting, hopes the fertility thermometer will help women think about their fertility and take steps to optimise it.
