Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2026

Fertility Preservation in Patients with Severe Ovarian Dysfunction
Published on: March 25, 2021
Reproductive outcome in patients with diminished ovarian reserve
A J Levi1, M F Raynault, P A Bergh
1Pediatric and Reproductive Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Objective:
To compare reproductive outcome between women with normal ovarian reserve and women with abnormal ovarian reserve.
Design:
Retrospective.
Setting:
Tertiary care center.
Patient(S):
Nine thousand eight hundred and two patients who had basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations measured as part of an infertility evaluation.
Intervention(S):
Monitoring of early pregnancy.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Pregnancy loss rates, live birth rates.
Result(S):
Of 1,034 patients with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) (FSH > or =14.2 IU/L), 28 (2.7%) conceived. Twenty of these pregnancies (20/28; 71.4%) were lost in the first trimester. Pregnancy loss rates in women with DOR were 57.1% in women <35 years old, 63.5% in women 35-40 years old, and 90.0% in women >40 years old. These rates of pregnancy loss were significantly higher compared to age-matched patients with normal ovarian reserve.
Conclusions(S):
Women with DOR have exceedingly high rates of pregnancy loss, regardless of age. Women with diminished ovarian reserve should be counseled that, in addition to a low probability of conception, live birth rates are poor.
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