If you’ve received a semen analysis that came back with good sperm count results, but your sperm is low in motility, then you probably have some questions. Most men wonder what could be causing their sperm to have a low motility and how they can improve the quality of their sperm. Dr. Daiter, Eric MD provides information about what sperm motility means, how it can affect your fertility and what you can expect.
Your doctor has probably detected low sperm motility through a semen analysis. Sperm motility refers to the way that your sperm moves. A sperms forward progression is also evaluated to determine if it is capable of fertilizing an egg. For a sperm to have proper movement and progression, it must first have a normal shape. A sperm cell should have an oval head, pronounced mid-section and a long tail. Abnormalities are completely normal in all semen samples. The percentage of perfectly formed sperm can be very low and you can still have good motility and sperm count.
When the laboratory tests your sample, they will look for abnormalities such as clumping. Sperm can clump if there are sperm antibodies present. This can severely impact sperm motility. A man can produce antisperm antibodies if his sperm is exposed to his immune system. This generally happens after surgery or infection, such as vasectomy or prostate infection. Your sperm is normally kept separate from your immune system by your testes. If it comes in contact with your immune system, then your immunity kicks in and fights off the sperm. It can produce proteins to kill or severely damage the sperm cells. This can lower the chances of your sperm being capable of fertilizing an egg by normal means. Your reproductive endocrinologist, or infertility specialist, may choose to test for the antibody proteins if clumping is observed in the semen analysis.
Sperm motility can refer to how fast your sperm can move. We also mentioned that it can refer to whether or not the sperm have forward progression. This just means that a sperm that moves forward in a straight line is more likely to get to the egg that you want to fertilize. Some sperm can even move hyperactively, very fast and in a circular pattern. Heat exposure, prolonged abstinence, and poor lifestyle can all contribute to low sperm motility. Sperm can take up to three months to mature. If you had an illness or injury, then your sperm motility can be affected for some time afterward. Normal sperm motility can sometimes just return on its own. Your infertility specialist may need to track your sperm motility over a long period of time to accurately determine the cause of your low sperm motility.
Work with your infertility specialist to help restore your sperm motility. If favorable results are not achieved through your infertility treatment, then In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) may be an option. With In Vitro Fertilization, your sperm is either put into direct contact with an egg or it is actually injected inside of the egg, rendering sperm motility less of a factor. IVF has been very effective in helping couples experiencing infertility achieve pregnancy.
About the Author: Dr. Eric Daiter (Daiter, Eric), the medical director of The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, LLC, a leading NEW JERSEY INFERTILITY CENTER that offers a complete range of MALE INFERTILITY AND FEMALE INFERTILITY TREATMENT. For more information on The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and Daiter, Eric please visit www.drericdaitermd.com.
Showing posts with label sperm count. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sperm count. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2008
Low Sperm Count? Dr. Eric Daiter MD
If your semen analysis has revealed that you have a low sperm count, then you may have questions about what that really means for your and your partner who are trying to conceive. Dr. Eric Daiter MD explains what it could mean for you and your conception efforts.
Your sperm count will be determined by semen analysis. Multiple analyses should be performed to accurately determine that there is a problem. Sperm count can vary greatly in samples taken only a few days apart, so try not to take an initial result too seriously until other tests have been done.
Having a low sperm count is very common among men and is generally not a concern until fertility is a factor. It is true that it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg, but the chances of one sperm making it to the egg are very low. Sperm count can be a bit arbitrary considering that many men with very high sperm counts have been unsuccessful in fathering children and men with very low sperm counts have successfully done so.
If you have been told that your sperm count is low and that this may be a factor in your infertility, then consider what you can do to help increase your sperm count. Talk to your reproductive endocrinologist about specific causes of your low sperm count and get his/her advice before proceeding. But, there are a few things that you can do from day to day that can help increase the quantity, quality and motility of your sperm.
First, you need to make sure that you are leading a healthy lifestyle. You need to exercise, but only moderately. Too much exercise can have an opposite effect by altering your hormone production and reducing your sperm quality. Maintain a healthy weight. Too much or too little body fat can have a much higher effect on your hormone levels than most people realize. Keep your stress levels low if possible. Stress can affect hormone levels as well as sexual function. Take a multi-vitamin and eat a healthy balanced diet.
Second, you need to make sure that you’re not being exposed to toxins. This includes alcohol, tobacco products and recreational drugs. Smoking can cause lower sperm counts, more dysfunctional and abnormal sperm, as well as damage to the DNA of your sperm. Other forms of tobacco use can cause the same problems. This is also true of alcohol consumption. Combining the two, tobacco and alcohol, has a much greater effect on your sperm than either one alone.
Third, don’t get too hot. Hot baths, saunas and steam rooms can make your sperm too hot to develop correctly. Keep your scrotal temperature in mind. Tight underwear, prolonged sitting and over-activity can cause your scrotum to become too hot to produce sperm.
All of these suggestions are to be taken along with the advice of your infertility specialist. There could be other causes, besides temperature and environment, affecting your sperm count. Treating your condition could include other therapies and an infertility specialist, or reproductive endocrinologist, is extensively trained in this field.
About the Author: Dr. Eric Daiter, the medical director of The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, LLC, a leading NEW JERSEY INFERTILITY CENTER that offers a complete range of MALE INFERTILITY AND FEMALE INFERTILITY TREATMENT. For more information on The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and Eric Daiter please visit www.drericdaitermd.com.
Your sperm count will be determined by semen analysis. Multiple analyses should be performed to accurately determine that there is a problem. Sperm count can vary greatly in samples taken only a few days apart, so try not to take an initial result too seriously until other tests have been done.
Having a low sperm count is very common among men and is generally not a concern until fertility is a factor. It is true that it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg, but the chances of one sperm making it to the egg are very low. Sperm count can be a bit arbitrary considering that many men with very high sperm counts have been unsuccessful in fathering children and men with very low sperm counts have successfully done so.
If you have been told that your sperm count is low and that this may be a factor in your infertility, then consider what you can do to help increase your sperm count. Talk to your reproductive endocrinologist about specific causes of your low sperm count and get his/her advice before proceeding. But, there are a few things that you can do from day to day that can help increase the quantity, quality and motility of your sperm.
First, you need to make sure that you are leading a healthy lifestyle. You need to exercise, but only moderately. Too much exercise can have an opposite effect by altering your hormone production and reducing your sperm quality. Maintain a healthy weight. Too much or too little body fat can have a much higher effect on your hormone levels than most people realize. Keep your stress levels low if possible. Stress can affect hormone levels as well as sexual function. Take a multi-vitamin and eat a healthy balanced diet.
Second, you need to make sure that you’re not being exposed to toxins. This includes alcohol, tobacco products and recreational drugs. Smoking can cause lower sperm counts, more dysfunctional and abnormal sperm, as well as damage to the DNA of your sperm. Other forms of tobacco use can cause the same problems. This is also true of alcohol consumption. Combining the two, tobacco and alcohol, has a much greater effect on your sperm than either one alone.
Third, don’t get too hot. Hot baths, saunas and steam rooms can make your sperm too hot to develop correctly. Keep your scrotal temperature in mind. Tight underwear, prolonged sitting and over-activity can cause your scrotum to become too hot to produce sperm.
All of these suggestions are to be taken along with the advice of your infertility specialist. There could be other causes, besides temperature and environment, affecting your sperm count. Treating your condition could include other therapies and an infertility specialist, or reproductive endocrinologist, is extensively trained in this field.
About the Author: Dr. Eric Daiter, the medical director of The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, LLC, a leading NEW JERSEY INFERTILITY CENTER that offers a complete range of MALE INFERTILITY AND FEMALE INFERTILITY TREATMENT. For more information on The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and Eric Daiter please visit www.drericdaitermd.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)