Low AMH: What Your Egg Reserve Test Means for Getting Pregnant

AMH is a blood test that estimates how many eggs you have left. Here’s what’s normal at each age, what a low result does and doesn’t mean, and your options.

Low AMH means your blood level of anti-Müllerian hormone is below the typical range for your age. AMH is made by the small follicles in your ovaries, so it gives an estimate of your egg reserve, how many eggs you have left. It falls naturally with age. A low result means fewer eggs, but it doesn’t measure egg quality and it isn’t a diagnosis of infertility. In a large US study of women aged 30 to 44 trying naturally, those with low AMH were just as likely to conceive within a year as those with normal AMH. Where AMH matters most is IVF, and as a sign that time may be shorter than average.

What is AMH?

• What it is: a hormone released by the tiny follicles that hold your eggs. More follicles means more AMH.
• What it shows: roughly how many eggs remain, and how many eggs IVF medicines are likely to produce.
• What it doesn’t show: egg quality, whether you ovulate, or your chance of getting pregnant naturally this year.
• The test: a simple blood test that can be done on any day of your cycle. Doctors often pair it with an ultrasound count of follicles.

AMH levels by age

These are typical middle (median) values from a large US study. Half of women your age are above this number and half below.

Labs use different methods and ranges, so compare your result with your lab’s own range. Many clinics call a result below about 1.0 ng/mL low, but what counts as low depends on your age: 0.8 is low at 28 but typical at 42. A very high AMH can be a sign of PCOS.

What causes low AMH?

• Age, by far the most common cause
• Genetics, especially a mother or sister with early menopause
• Smoking, which speeds up egg loss
• Ovarian surgery, such as removing endometriosis cysts
• Endometriosis
• Chemotherapy or pelvic radiation
• Hormonal birth control, which can lower the reading temporarily. Your level may be higher once you stop.

Low AMH but regular periods

This is very common. Regular periods usually mean you’re ovulating each month, and you only need one egg per cycle to get pregnant. Low AMH itself has no symptoms. Signs only appear when reserve gets very low near menopause, such as cycles getting shorter, or hot flashes and night sweats.

Can you get pregnant with low AMH?

Yes. In the US study above, 84% of women with low AMH conceived within 12 cycles, compared with 75% of women with normal levels. That study included women without known fertility problems, so if you’ve already been trying for a while, your doctor’s advice comes first.

With IVF, low AMH means fewer eggs are usually collected per cycle, so you may need more cycles or a different medicine plan. But your age, which reflects egg quality, matters more for success than the AMH number itself.

Can you raise AMH naturally?

Honestly, no proven diet, supplement or remedy raises your egg reserve. Some supplements are being studied for IVF, with mixed results; ask your doctor before trying any. What you can do is support overall health, which helps egg quality and pregnancy: stop smoking, keep a healthy weight, limit alcohol, take folic acid, and treat thyroid or other conditions.

When to act sooner

• you’re 35 or older and have been trying for 6 months
• you’re 38 or older with low AMH: see a fertility specialist now rather than waiting
• your AMH is low for your age and you want more than one child
• you’re not trying yet but plan to later: ask about egg freezing

For what’s normal at each age, see how long it takes to get pregnant, and for timing, how to know if you’re ovulating.

The Chinese medicine view

Chinese medicine describes the reproductive reserve as Kidney essence, inherited at birth and slowly used over a lifetime. It can’t be replaced, but it’s traditionally protected by rest, warmth, nourishing food and avoiding overwork, so that what remains is used well. These are traditional descriptions, not a diagnosis.

Another option while you try

After a low AMH result, many women want to do something for their body while they try. Fertility Nourish is a sealed herbal pouch worn over the navel, with nothing to swallow, offered as a preconception wellness routine alongside your medical care. It isn’t shown to change AMH or egg reserve. You can choose it for yourself. In one selected case from my practice records, a woman who had tried to conceive for six years reported a pregnancy within a month of a combined pouch routine. Read her case, which can’t show what caused the pregnancy or predict your result. If you’re having fertility treatment, check with your team first. Stop using the pouch once pregnancy is possible or confirmed. Your first course is covered by our 90-Day Satisfaction Guarantee.

See Fertility Nourish’s directions →

Reviewed October 2026. Author: Qingcai Wang, MD, PhD, developer of the Five Essences external herbal-pouch formulations, with a commercial interest in their sale. General education only; continue your medical care.

Sources: Steiner et al., ovarian reserve biomarkers and infertility, JAMA (2017); Seifer et al., age-specific AMH values in 17,120 women, Fertility and Sterility (2011); ASRM, testing and interpreting measures of ovarian reserve.