Why sperm tests aren’t helping you get pregnant.

Hi Reader

Struggling to get pregnant? It may be a sperm issue.

The GP has given the tick of approval. He has said it's all good. Yet, still no baby.

Here's the thing.

Your sperm test is ok, but it’s not great. Vital information on the test is missing and it’s a huge factor in how fast you conceive.

Let me explain why.

It helps if we think about a sperm like fish in a pond. 40 years ago the pond had crystal clear water and an abundance of fish. They had a healthy environment and thrived because of it.

But as the years have gone by that pond is now filled with chemicals and debris. The fish are suffering because of it. There's only half as many and they are not healthy.

• From 1973 researchers have seen a 50% decline in sperm levels. With a further decline by about 1.5% per year. That's crazy isn't it?!

When I started working in fertility we never checked sperm because it wasn’t a problem. Now experts are starting to question whether the state of male fertility is becoming a public health emergency.

• A report from 2021 confirmed that in Australia and NZ, for couples seeking IVF under 35 years old, the number one cause was male fertility.

So we need to keep up with the times and start checking sperm SOONER. The truth is, there is a lot men can be doing in their lifestyle to improve their sperm quality.

There are 4 things on a sperm test I want you to know.

Number 1 is volume.

It tells us how much fluid is the ejaculation. The pond size = volume. For some men there is only a small pond and others its a big pond. We want to make sure there’s a good number of fish in the pond. We don’t want them crowed in a small pond, or to get lost in a huge pond.

You know what I mean?

Number 2 is count.

Thats the number of sperm in the ejaculate. Or the amount of fish in your pond. Most guys have millions and it seems like enough…. But in reality most of them won’t survive the baby-making journey.

The higher the ‘count’ means a better chance of making a baby.

Number 3 is motility (specifically progressive motility)

It tells us how fast your sperm are swimming, in a forward progression. If they’re going forward they can make it to their destination.

Number 4 is morphology.

And is perhaps the most important part. It’s the sperm’s shape.

If they can reach their destination, can they then fertilise an egg? We’re looking for a normal round shaped head and tail. Hopefully the sperm with abnormal heads and multiple tails don’t make it out of the pond.

So they won’t be competing for the golden egg.

Ok, so now you know what to look for.

But what does it all mean?

The WHO sets the parameters of what is considered a pass on a sperm test. To figure this out, they did a study of men from all different countries. Tracked how long it took for them to conceive within the timeframe of a year and put that data on bell curve that looks like this.

When your doctor says “yep it’s fine”, it means all those numbers we discussed above are on or above something called the ‘reference ranges’.

Here’s the kicker…

The ‘reference ranges’ is the minimum pass rate.

And it’s the BOTTOM 5% of the fertile population.

Akin to the sperm that sat at the back of the class and copied their friends homework. In clinic I see far too many men falling below this 5%. Unfortunately outside of IVF, Western medicine doesn’t have great treatment options.

If we look at this graph here…we can see how the values have changed over the years. Let’s look at morphology.

In 1980 you needed 80.5% normal shaped sperm to be considered fertile… over the years that has dropped significantly.

In 1999 you need 14% normal shaped sperm.

By 2010 that dropped to 4%.

That's crazy when you get your head around it, because it means that if a man only has 4% normal shaped sperm, then 96% are abnormal.

And that is what's considered ok.

But there’s something I haven’t told you about yet. That has a huge impact on male fertility.

It can’t be seen on a sperm test.

Sperm test’s don’t measure the DNA integrity of sperm.

Which is really important. DNA is needed for an egg and sperm to fertilise. The egg will try and fix any damaged DNA of the sperm. But if there is too much damage it can result in miscarriage or it won't fertilise.

You need a seperate test to look at sperm DNA. Its called a DNA fragmentation test.

It’s expensive. And it's not something your GP will order. It generally comes from a fertility specialist if they’ll order it for you and not all of them are willing to do it.

Because the truth is, it won’t really change their treatment plan.

All it provides is an explanation for poor fertilisation in IVF.

Some men need a DNA test result before they’re willing to make some significant lifestyle changes.

Once they make lifestyle choices to improve their health, sperm DNA damage is reduced. Often leading to a successful pregnancy.

Sperm DNA quality has a direct link to the environment they grow in. (ie/ the quality of the water in the pond.)

So even though the science doesn’t directly say that men with poor sperm quality won’t be able to have children. It gives us vital information on how long it may take and what their health is like in general.

Infertility is not just a female issue. Male infertility contributes to roughly 50% of cases.

The good news is, men are always making new sperm.

Significant improvements can be made in as little as 3-6 months.

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Jaya x

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