Problems with making healthy sperm are the most common causes of male infertility.
The predominant cause of infertility in men is poor semen quality v. Today we’ll discuss
how we can make changes to improve this.
My name is Dr Hart-Pinto.
At JHP medical we make weekly information videos.
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What influences the quality of our sperm.
Three main factors determine how good your sperm are:
1.
The quantity of sperm in your semen 2.
How mobile the sperm are 3.
And are they built correctly?
A fertile man should have at least 15 million sperm per millilitre.
Men with smaller quantities will have more difficulty getting their partners pregnant.
Less sperm means less opportunity for egg fertilization.
Sperm after ejaculation have a long journey to find the egg, via the woman’s cervix,
uterus, and fallopian tubes to find the egg.
To survive this journey, sperm need to bear the correct size and shape, plus enough motility
to travel this long distance.
Why do some men have fertility problems?
Half of the time a couple experiences fertility issues, the problem is contributed to in some
way by the man.
In 1 in 5 couples, the man is solely responsible.
Some fertility challenges may be caused by hormonal imbalances, conditions affecting
your testicles, or a transport issue affecting how sperm travel from the testicles to the
tip of your penis.
However, for 1 in 4 men, no cause is found.
Unhealthy sperm production is the number one cause of male infertility.
In many cases, poor-quality sperm can be related to lifestyle choices or bad habits.
For these men, making proactive changes may significantly improve their fertility.
Let’s look at how we can improve our sperm quality and quantity.
Breaking the bad habits
Consuming too much alcohol or smoking harms sperm quality and quantity.
To improve your chances of pregnancy, it’s important that you cut these out, or reduce
them as much as possible.
Being overweight, having a poor diet and lack of exercise also harms sperm count and motility.
A balanced diet will ensure you receive all the nutrients you need to develop healthy
and effective sperm.
Regular exercise promotes natural antioxidant production helping ensure your sperm stay
strong and healthy.
Temperature is a significant factor.
Sperm like to stay cool, hence why your testicles lie outside your body.
Increasing the temperature of your testicles has an impact on sperm.
Therefore, we should avoid:
1.
Wearing tight-fitting clothing 2.
Avoid seat heaters, saunas, and hot tubs 3.
Stop placing laptops and other warm objects on your lap.
Keep stress levels low.
Increased stress in day-to-day life influences sexual function and hormone levels, which
is detrimental to healthy sperm production.
Sex tips
One big misconception is that you need to have sex every day.
This just isn’t true.
If you’re a couple doing this continue as you are, for the rest of us we can still maximize
the chance of pregnancy, by having sex every two to three days during the woman’s ovulation
window.
The ovulation window is a woman’s most fertile period.
Usually, 12 to 16 days before the start of her period.
Many apps can help you track your partner’s ovulation window.
One big no-no during sex is lubricants.
Some lubricants aren’t friendly to sperm.
Many, contain substances that may harm the viability or motility of sperm.
Others, create a barrier against sperm, hinder the process of egg fertilization, and harm
embryo development.
If you’re a couple that needs to use lubricants, alternative fertility-friendly lubricants
exist.
These are specially formulated to be sperm-friendly, meaning they shouldn’t harm sperm or prevent
fertilization.
When to speak with your doctor
If after a year of regular trying you have been unable to conceive it’s time to speak
with your doctor about further investigation.
Your healthcare professional can request tests on your sperm to comprehensively evaluate
the quality quantity and motility of your sperm.
Additionally, certain drugs such as antidepressants, anabolic steroids, and anti-androgen medications
can harm healthy sperm production.
So, speak with your doctor if you are taking any of these.
What about supplements?
A healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet should be enough to provide you with all the vital
nutrients to promote healthy sperm development.
So, most men will not require any supplementation.
Excess supplements may cause more harm than good if you're not deficient.
However, some evidence demonstrates that the following supplements, in some individuals,
may increase the viability of sperm, increasing the chances of pregnancy.
Supplements that may help include:
1.
Vitamin C, D, and E 2.
Folic acid 3.
L-carnitine 4.
Coenzyme Q 10 5.
Zinc 6.
Selenium and N-acetyl-cysteine
We wish you luck in your fertility journey.
Stay happy and healthy, and we will see you in the next one.
Of course, this video does not provide individual medical advice and is intended for information
purposes only.
Do not consider this as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Please do not ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something
you have heard here.
If you believe you may have a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or ambulance
service.