It looks like I am f.uck.e.d. or am I?

How many antral follicles is "good"? I had nine total today.

"There is not a perfect answer to this excellent question. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, and some ovaries have not yet read up on antral follicle counts to know how they are supposed to respond to stimulation. Antral follicle counts can also be somewhat "observer-dependent". This means that if we had several different trained ultrasonographers do an antral count on a woman, they would not all get exactly the same result. Therefore, what we decide looks like 6 antral follicles, at another clinic might have been read as 4 or 8, etc.
From our own observations and experience, here are some general guidelines:
Total number of antral follicles
Expected response to injectable ovarian stimulating drug (FSH product) and chances for success
Less than 4
Extremely low count, very poor (or no) response to stimulation and a cancelled cycle expected.
Should seriously consider not attempting IVF at all.
Rare pregnancies if IVF attempted.
4-7
Low count, we are concerned about a possible/probable poor response to the stimulation drugs.
Likely to need high doses of FSH product to stimulate ovaries adequately.
Higher than average rate of IVF cycle cancellation.
Lower than average pregnancy rates for those cases that make it to egg retrieval. The reduction in success rates is more pronounced beyond age 35.
8-10
Somewhat reduced count.
Higher than average rate of IVF cycle cancellation.
Slightly reduced chances for pregnancy as a group.
11-14
Normal (but intermediate) count, the response to drug stimulation is sometimes low, but usually good.
Slight increased risk for IVF cycle cancellation.
Pregnancy rates as a group only slightly reduced compared to the "best" group.
15-26
Normal (good) antral count, should have an excellent response to ovarian stimulation.
Likely to respond well to low doses of FSH product.
Very low risk for IVF cycle cancellation. Some risk for ovarian overstimulation.
Best pregnancy rates overall as a group.
Over 26
High count, watch for polycystic ovary type of ovarian response.
Likely to have a high response to low doses of FSH product.
Higher than average risk for overstimulation.
Very good pregnancy rate overall as a group, but some cases in the group have egg quality issues and lower chances for pregnancy.

Female age under 35
Female age under 35 Chart
IVF live birth rates are lower with reduced antral follicle counts.
Young women with high antral counts sometimes have egg quality issues.

Female age 35-39
Female age 35-39 chart
Women 35-39 have intermediate success rates. Higher antral counts show better success.

Female age 40-42
Female age 40-42 Chart
Women 40-42 have substantially lower success rates.
Success rates are best with more than 12 antrals. "