You received the low AMH result. Maybe your doctor mentioned donor eggs in the same conversation. And yet you are still having a regular cycle. Still ovulating. And still holding the question: is natural conception still possible for me?
The answer is yes. And here is why.
What AMH Is Actually Measuring
AMH, or anti-Mullerian hormone, is not a measure of egg quality. A woman can have a low AMH and excellent egg quality. A woman can have a normal AMH and poor egg quality. These are different variables.
Even more, AMH is not a measure of how many eggs you have left. Yes, read that again.
Here is a piece that rarely gets explained. AMH is only produced by your developing follicles, the ones already recruited into this month’s active pool. It says nothing about your primordial follicles, the ones sitting dormant in true reserve. Think of it like counting how many workers showed up to the factory floor this month. That tells you something about current output. It does not tell you how many workers are still in the hiring pool. And if the factory floor is inflamed right now, fewer workers show up and the ones who do underperform. Your AMH goes down, not because your reserve is gone, but because the working environment is compromised.
Research has confirmed what I see in my clinical practice: AMH levels do not predict the rate of chromosomally normal embryos. A 2017 study published in Fertility and Sterility, a retrospective analysis of 1,562 IVF cycles in which 8,436 blastocysts were biopsied and assessed for chromosomal normalcy, found no significant correlation between AMH levels and the rate of euploid embryos. Your AMH tells you how many eggs your ovaries are likely to recruit each cycle. It does not tell you whether those eggs are healthy. And it does not tell you how many eggs you have left in your total reserve.
Even more, a 2022 study published in the same journal, Fertility and Sterility, found that women with diminished ovarian reserve, defined as AMH below 0.7 ng/mL or FSH at or above 10 mIU/mL, did not have a lower chance of future live birth compared to women with normal ovarian reserve. Two separate studies, two separate angles, the same conclusion. Your AMH number is not your destiny. If you want to understand exactly what your own hormone numbers mean, my Hormones 101 masterclass walks you through it step by step.
AMH Is Also Not Fixed
This is the part most women are not told. AMH levels respond to nutritional and lifestyle interventions. One study found that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, CoQ10, and vitamin E raised AMH by 31 percent in three months. That is a meaningful shift. (this is part of why I formulated my own fertility supplement line around these exact nutrients)
Reducing oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, supporting mitochondrial function, and removing endocrine-disrupting chemical exposures all create conditions in which the ovaries can function more optimally. This can be reflected in improved AMH over time.
At the cellular level, one of the main drivers behind that inflammation is something called the NLRP3 inflammasome, essentially a fire alarm system inside your immune cells. When it gets stuck in the on position from chronic stress, poor diet, disrupted sleep, or underlying autoimmune activity, it floods your ovaries with inflammatory signals that damage the granulosa cells responsible for producing AMH. Research has also linked chronic pelvic inflammation, undiagnosed endometriosis, and thyroid autoimmunity to measurably lower AMH, even in women with no obvious symptoms. This matters because it means a low number is often a signal of a hostile inflammatory environment, not a fixed verdict on your reserve.
And there is an emotional layer to this too. Chronic psychological stress activates your body’s internal alarm system, raising cortisol, which travels to the ovaries and can accelerate the same granulosa cell damage. The story you carry about your fertility is not just emotional weight. It is biochemistry. Which means the story, and the number, can shift.
What to Do With a Low AMH
Track ovulation carefully, because with fewer follicles maturing each cycle, missing your window is a higher cost. Use a multi-hormone kit that confirms both the LH surge and the post-ovulation progesterone rise. (not sure where to start? take my fertility quiz and I’ll point you to what matters most for your picture)
Begin the full egg quality protocol (you can find the details of my complete egg quality masterclass here) and commit to at least 90 days. Work alongside a practitioner (my one on one coaching program walks you through exactly this kind of root cause approach) who looks at your whole picture, not just your AMH number as a closed door. This means assessing inflammation, immune activity, gut health, blood sugar, and your emotional and nervous system state alongside your labs. I have worked with women who were told donor eggs were their only option and who went on to conceive with their own eggs after this kind of focused work. Low AMH is not the final word.
If you want the full research behind this, including the real patient case where AMH rose from 0.15 to 0.85 once we addressed the inflammation driving it, that whole story lives in my Substack (you can read the full two part series here). And if you want the complete step by step protocol, the diet, the labs to ask for, and the supplement and Chinese herbal approach, it is all laid out in the revised edition of Yes, You Can Get Pregnant (grab your copy here).
This post is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Please consult your own doctor before making changes to your care.