After Your Fertility Scan — What Happens Next
What your results mean in context, when monitoring is usually repeated, which tests sit alongside a scan, and the point at which a fertility clinic becomes the right next step.
- Findings explained on screen at your appointment
- Written report usually with you within two hours
- Reports written for your GP or fertility clinic to act on
- We will tell you when a scan is not the right next test
CQC-registered clinic · Provider ID 1-2775844974 · HCPC-registered sonographers
What your scan told us — and what it did not
A fertility ultrasound answers a specific set of questions well: whether follicles are developing, when one releases, how many resting follicles you have, and whether the womb and lining look normal. Those are structural and timing questions, and the answers are measurements rather than opinions.
What no scan answers is egg quality, whether your fallopian tubes are open, or anything at all about sperm. Those need different tests, and two of them are not available here. A normal scan narrows the question considerably — it does not close it.
AFC, AMH and serial monitoring — which answers what
| Test | What it measures | What it cannot tell you | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antral follicle count | Resting follicles in both ovaries — a marker of ovarian reserve and likely IVF response | Egg quality; your natural chance this cycle | Here, in one early-cycle appointment |
| AMH blood test | The other standard reserve marker, read alongside AFC | Egg quality; ovulation timing | GP or fertility clinic — we do not offer blood tests |
| Serial monitoring (follicle tracking) | Whether and when you ovulate, growth rate, endometrial response | Reserve; tubal patency; sperm | Here, across two to four scans in one cycle |
| Tubal patency test | Whether the fallopian tubes are open | Ovulation; reserve | Fertility clinic only |
| Semen analysis | Sperm count, movement and form | Anything on the female side | GP or fertility clinic — not offered here |
Severe one-sided pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, shoulder-tip pain, faintness or collapse need same-day assessment — contact your nearest Early Pregnancy Unit, call NHS 111, or go to A&E. If you have had a positive pregnancy test, these can indicate an ectopic pregnancy, which is a medical emergency and not something to monitor.
When monitoring is usually repeated
- The cycle was still early and no dominant follicle had emerged yet
- Ovulation was not confirmed and you want to know whether it happened
- A cycle was anovulatory and you want to see whether the next one differs
- You are on a medicated cycle and your clinic has set the dates
- A cyst or finding needs re-checking after a cycle or two
- One anovulatory cycle in isolation — common, and often meaningless
- Your question is reserve, and you already have a recent AFC
- The open question is tubes or sperm — a scan will not answer either
- Nothing has changed and no decision depends on the result
The useful test before booking anything is simple: would a different number change what you do next? If not, the scan can wait.
What to expect, step by step
- 1
Your report arrivesUsually within two hours of the appointment, with every measurement set out. Keep it — future scans are interpreted by comparison, and a previous report is worth more than a remembered number.
- 2
Take it to your GP or clinicThe report is written for them. If you are not already under a fertility clinic, your GP is the route to referral, tubal testing and semen analysis.
- 3
Decide whether another cycle is worth monitoringIf ovulation was confirmed and the timing is now clear, you may not need another. If the picture was incomplete, a second cycle usually settles it.
- 4
Act on the timetable, not the hopeUnder 36, a year of trying before investigation is standard; from 36, six months. If you have irregular cycles, known PCOS or endometriosis, that timetable moves forward — go sooner.
- 5
Escalate when the pattern repeatsRepeated anovulatory cycles, a persistently thin lining, or several monitored cycles without conception are all reasons to be under a fertility clinic rather than continuing to monitor privately.
When a fertility clinic is the right next step
After your scan — your questions answered
How soon can I have another monitoring cycle?
My scan was normal but I am still not pregnant. What now?
Should I get AMH tested as well?
What if I had one cycle where I did not ovulate?
Can you refer me to a fertility clinic?
Will my report be enough for an IVF clinic?
How long should I keep my reports?
Is there any harm in repeated scans?
Where to go from here
Two to four scans across one cycle — ovulation timed, not estimated.
See the scan →
Ovarian ReserveAntral Follicle Count (AFC) Scan
A single early-cycle count of the resting follicles in both ovaries.
See the scan →
GuideUltrasound for Ovarian Reserve
How AFC works alongside AMH, and what each one can tell you.
Read the guide →
Monitor the cycle that matters
If another tracked cycle would change what you do next, we will time it around your dates rather than our diary — with findings explained on screen and reports your fertility clinic can act on the same day.
Kensington, London W8 4ED
3 mins from Notting Hill Gate
Written and clinically reviewed by the HCPC-registered sonographers who perform this scan at IUS London — a CQC-registered diagnostic ultrasound clinic (Provider ID 1-2775844974). Your own findings are explained to you at the scan and set out in your report.
Author: Yianni Kiromitis, Senior Sonographer, HCPC RA38415 — over 20 years’ experience in NHS and private ultrasound · Reviewed 10 August 2026