A journal of nature, knowledge & soulSeven plants · Your free guide ↗
The Apothecary / Laboratory education

Functional laboratory education

The Fertility Lab Edit

Preparation begins with nourishment, cycle awareness, and a clear understanding of what a test can actually tell you. Testing should support timely care, without turning conception into a pursuit of perfect numbers.

By Dr. Michele Burklund, NMD · Updated November 1, 2026

Explore My Training

Begin with the foundations

A question before a panel.

Begin with the question, then choose the test. Food, sleep, movement, connection, oral care, and relevant environmental changes remain the foundation. Laboratory work is most useful when a finding could change a decision.

01 / THYROID & NOURISHMENT

Thyroid & Nourishment

Review dietary adequacy and discuss CBC, ferritin, thyroid testing, and selected nutrient assessment when indicated. Test selection should reflect bleeding history, dietary pattern, medical history, and symptoms.

02 / CYCLE & OVULATION

Cycle & Ovulation

Cycle history often provides useful evidence about ovulation. When serum progesterone is needed, time it approximately one week before the expected next period rather than automatically on day 21.

03 / OVARIAN RESERVE

Ovarian Reserve

AMH can be measured across the cycle; basal FSH and estradiol are generally assessed together on cycle days 2–4. These tests primarily inform expected ovarian response, not egg quality or a definitive chance of natural conception.

04 / METABOLIC & MICROBIOME HEALTH

Metabolic & Microbiome Health

Assess glucose regulation when indicated and investigate vaginal symptoms appropriately. Broad microbiome screening has not been established as a universal way to improve fertility. A couple's evaluation may also include semen assessment and reproductive anatomy.

The tests in this collection.

Precision Analytical (DUTCH)

DUTCH Complete

What it measures
Sex hormones and selected metabolites, daily cortisol and cortisone patterns, and selected organic-acid markers.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
A clinician has a specific hormone-metabolism or daily rhythm question after reviewing cycle history, symptoms, and hormone use.
What ordering involves
Timed dried urine samples collected with the at-home kit. Record sleep timing, cycle day when relevant, hormone use, and collection times. Do not substitute DUTCH Complete, Plus, or Cycle Mapping schedules for one another.
Keep in mind
Daily patterns are affected by timing, medicines, and collection conditions. These tests do not diagnose grief or adrenal fatigue.
Test information & references

Quest Diagnostics

Comprehensive Metabolic Panel

What it measures
Glucose, electrolytes, proteins, and markers related to liver and kidney function.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
A broader metabolic baseline or follow-up may clarify symptoms or previous results.
What ordering involves
Serum from a blood draw. Follow the instructions supplied with the exact order. Fasting and medication timing may change when tests are combined.
Keep in mind
Interpret with the reason for testing, symptoms, medical history, and the laboratory method. An isolated result is not a diagnosis.
Test information & references

Quest Diagnostics

Iron, TIBC and Ferritin Panel

What it measures
Serum iron, iron-binding capacity, transferrin saturation, and ferritin as a marker of iron stores.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
Heavy menstrual bleeding, dietary limitation, suspected depletion, or possible iron overload makes the iron pattern clinically relevant.
What ordering involves
Serum from a blood draw. The current storefront marks this test as requiring fasting. Follow the exact order instructions for duration and other preparation; discuss medication timing with the ordering clinician.
Keep in mind
Interpret with the reason for testing, symptoms, medical history, and the laboratory method. An isolated result is not a diagnosis.
Test information & references

Quest Diagnostics

TSH with Reflex to Free T4

What it measures
Thyroid-stimulating hormone, with free T4 added if the laboratory reflex criteria are met.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
Symptoms or history suggest a possible thyroid contribution to changes in energy, temperature tolerance, bowel habits, or cycles.
What ordering involves
Serum from a blood draw. Follow the instructions supplied with the exact order. Fasting and medication timing may change when tests are combined.
Keep in mind
Interpret with the reason for testing, symptoms, medical history, and the laboratory method. An isolated result is not a diagnosis.
Test information & references

Quest Diagnostics

Hemoglobin A1c with eAG

What it measures
Glycated hemoglobin and calculated estimated average glucose over roughly two to three months.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
There is a reason to assess longer-term glucose regulation alongside nourishment, movement, and sleep.
What ordering involves
Whole blood from a blood draw. A1c alone does not require fasting; other tests in the same order may.
Keep in mind
Anemia, hemoglobin variants, recent blood loss or transfusion, and altered red-cell turnover can affect interpretation. It does not reveal individual meal-related glucose peaks.
Test information & references

Tiny Health

Vaginal Health Test

What it measures
Vaginal microbial DNA using shotgun metagenomics, including relative abundance patterns and vaginal community state type.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
Persistent or recurrent vaginal symptoms raise a question about microbial patterns, with findings interpreted alongside examination and tissue health.
What ordering involves
Vaginal swab collected with the at-home kit. The listing describes this test for women over 18. Follow Tiny Health’s supplied vaginal-swab instructions for timing and preparation; do not apply another laboratory’s kit instructions.
Keep in mind
Interpret microbial detection with symptoms and examination. This is not a urine culture or a complete explanation for recurrent urinary symptoms.
Test information & references

Quest Diagnostics

Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH), Female

What it measures
Anti-Mullerian hormone, a marker that adds information about ovarian reserve.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
A fertility evaluation needs ovarian-reserve context, especially for anticipating response to ovarian stimulation.
What ordering involves
Serum from a blood draw. AMH can generally be measured on any cycle day; discuss recent hormone use and relevant clinical context.
Keep in mind
AMH informs ovarian reserve and anticipated response to stimulation. It does not measure egg quality or provide a definitive prediction of natural conception.
Test information & references

Quest Diagnostics

Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy, Total, Immunoassay

What it measures
25-hydroxy vitamin D, the main circulating marker used to assess vitamin D status.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
Diet, limited outdoor exposure, bone health, or another clinical factor makes vitamin D assessment useful.
What ordering involves
Serum from a blood draw. Follow the instructions supplied with the exact order. Fasting and medication timing may change when tests are combined.
Keep in mind
Interpret with the reason for testing, symptoms, medical history, and the laboratory method. An isolated result is not a diagnosis.
Test information & references

Quest Diagnostics

CBC (includes Differential and Platelets)

What it measures
Red-cell measures, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets, and a white-cell differential.
Why it is here · When it may be useful
Fatigue, suspected anemia, immune-cell changes, or another clinical question warrants a blood count.
What ordering involves
Whole blood from a blood draw. Follow the instructions supplied with the exact order. Fasting and medication timing may change when tests are combined.
Keep in mind
Interpret with the reason for testing, symptoms, medical history, and the laboratory method. An isolated result is not a diagnosis.
Test information & references

A closer look

What the findings can tell us.

Collect with intention.

Use cycle-specific blood collection when required. A vaginal microbiome swab and a urinary hormone profile answer different questions and are not substitutes for a fertility evaluation.

Keep the limits in view.

Age remains central to reproductive counseling. Supplements and repeated tests should not delay evaluation when timing matters.

Results belong within your history, symptoms, examination, medications, and the laboratory's method. A reference interval is not a universal target for every person. There is no single validated set of 'optimal' values that applies across all assays and life stages.

Availability, ordering requirements, collection fees, and eligibility vary by test and location. Review the current Fullscript listing and your clinician's instructions before purchasing.

These are educational categories, not a bundled fertility laboratory purchase. Individual testing is chosen with your clinician; a dedicated Fullscript fertility lab collection is not currently confirmed.

READ BEFORE THE BEGINNING →SHOP THE PRECONCEPTION COLLECTION →

Good questions. Thoughtful answers.

Do I need every test in this guide?

No. Choose a test only when its result may change a useful decision, taking existing results, symptoms and your budget into account.

Does an out-of-range result identify the root cause?

Not by itself. Interpretation depends on the assay, collection, history and the pattern across findings. A result can be one clue without being the explanation.

Where can I see ordering requirements?

Open the individual Fullscript listing for current availability, specimen instructions and eligibility. A collection may include alternatives rather than tests intended to be purchased together.

Related reading.

Research & references

Educational information, not an individualized order or interpretation. Purchases through my storefront may financially support my practice.

The Foundations · My gift to you

Return to the ground
your body knows.

Before protocols. Before supplements. Begin with water, nourishment, breath, and the everyday environment that supports your health.

Start My Free Foundations Course