Fertell me about it

Fellas, would you pay $100 not to have to undergo a complete fertility workup? Perhaps you can. Coming soon to your local pharmacy: Fertell, the first at-home fertility screening test for men and women. It works by measuring two key fertility indicators: sperm motility (high is good) and female follicle-stimulating hormone, known as FSH (high is bad). Experts are welcoming the fact that Fertell — available in England since last year — doesn’t test only women. First, because men are, contrary to popular belief (and dated medical practice), roughly as likely as their partners to be the source of fertility issues; find out something might be wrong now and you won’t waste your time with an old-school doctor who looks only at the lady half of the equation. Men also tend to be more reluctant to get checked out in the first place; the at-home option could help them, and thus the couple, get past the first hurdle. Of course, swimming skills and FSH are not the only canaries in the coal mine; these tests can’t replace doctors. They’re also not cheap. But at least as a jump-start, as well as a reminder — to individual couples, and to society — of how exactly many it takes to tango, Fertell probably can’t hurt.