The New York Times on Thursday examined a new at-home fertility test from First Response, the maker of the nation's leading home pregnancy test. The test, which is performed on the third day of a woman's menstrual cycle, measures follicle stimulating hormones, an indicator of the quantity and quality of a woman's ova. First Response is the first nationally advertised brand to sell a home fertility test in major retailers like Wal-Mart, Kmart and CVS, which began stocking the product in February. According to the Times, the new product is "being introduced less as a trailblazer than another quill in the brand's quiver," along with First Response's home pregnancy test and daily ovulation test. Advertisements for the new fertility test will run on AccentHealth, the CNN program shown in waiting rooms across the U.S., including 1,500 ob-gyn offices. In addition, more than 30,000 ob-gyn offices will carry brochures featuring information about the test.

Some critics argue that the new test could provide women with a false sense of security regarding their fertility, the Times reports…