Here’s all you need to know about sperm! It takes just one healthy sperm to make a baby. In men, the major cause of infertility is abnormal semen, if a man releases a low quality or quantity sperm, then it will be impossible for him to impregnate his woman. Here’s a low-down of everything you need to know about sperm.
How long can sperm live for?
After an egg is released by the woman, it lives fir around 12-24 hours, for conception to occur, a sperm must fertilise the egg within the hours of 12-24 hours.
Th sperm can live inside the woman’s body for seven days, so it’s possible for an egg to be fertilised by the sperm that exist inside the woman’s body before the egg was released. Meanwhile, sperm thrive in wet environment
Semen analysis?
for a man to determine his fertility level, a semen analysis is the most common but not the only test he can undergo. This test will provide information about the sperm, semen, and the fluid inside the sperm.
A semen analysis will determine whether a man is fertile or infertile. The test is performed on ejaculated semen, then the doctor will analyse the sperm quality, motility and morphology. if any of these 3 are abnormal, then the sperm is not functioning properly.
What do I do if I have a low sperm count?
After the doctor examine the semen through a microscope, a computer will be used to measure the amount of sperm present in the sample.
When there’s fewer than 15 million sperm per millilitre of semen, then the man has a low sperm count. If the man has a low sperm count, the chances of the couple conceiving naturally is reduced.
Most times, there’s no known causes for low sperm count, although there are genetic and non-genetic fsctors that has been linked to low sperm quality such as;
- Hormone imbalances in the testes
- Scarring from previous surgery or infections that have blocked the tubes for sperm to swim through
- Regular exposure to harmful chemicals such as pesticides
- Excessive use of drugs, such as marijuana
What do I do if I have low sperm motility?
To reach the egg, the sperm has to swim through to a woman’s cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes. A semen analysis will look at the way a man’s sperm moves and the percentage of live sperm present.
The doctor will then grade sperm on their ability to swim and if they are moving in the correct direction, i.e. moving forward and not around in circles. To determine sperm motility, The World Health Organisation considers ‘normal’ sperm motility to be around 60% or higher. If a man has high sperm count and low sperm motility, this may affect their chances of conceiving.
What does sperm morphology mean?
Morphology refers to the shape of the sperm. Your doctor will assess sperm morphology during semen analysis and report the percentage of normal sperm as well as the amount of sperm that has head, mid-piece or tail defects. If more than 4% of the sperm meets the normal criteria then the semen sample is considered normal.
So what does a normal shaped sperm look like?
A normal sperm will have a smooth, oval head with a cap-like structure at the end called the acrosome, this will cover 40% to 70% of the sperm head. There will also be a mid-piece section and a tail on the sperm, with no visible abnormalities such as fluid droplets in the sperm head bigger than the size of the sperm head.
If a man has abnormal sperm, it can make it harder for sperm to move and fertilise an egg. Although some of the sperm termed as abnormal may happen to function normally.
Is there anything I can do to improve the health of my sperm?
There are a number of factors that can improve the health of a man’s sperm.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Obesity or being underweight has been linked with low sperm.
- Seek medical advice from your doctor. Your doctor will carry out a semen analysis and determine whether you have low sperm count, quality or motility.
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