Sperm plays an important role in conception. If you’re trying for a baby and still haven’t seen successful results, then poor sperm health can also be a reason.
As a man, understanding the symptoms of poor sperm production helps to determine whether you have good reproductive health or not. So, you can move towards the doctor’s consultation or lifestyle adjustments accordingly.
Let’s know how much sperm is required for pregnancy and when to seek medical help in the upcoming sections.
How Much Sperm Is Actually Required for Pregnancy?
When discussing sperm quantity, what is essential for getting pregnant is only one healthy sperm. Yes. Technically, this is the actual required sperm to get pregnant.
Still, more sperm will be ejected as the probability of fertilization depends upon the health, morphology, and motility of sperm.
On average, nearly 200 to 300 million sperm are released with each ejaculation. If you’ve poor sperm production, then the amount of sperm during ejaculation also decreases accordingly.
Misconceptions About Sperm Quantity
Sperm quantity remains constant throughout a man’s life. This is one of the most important misconceptions that everyone believes.
Just like a female’s fertility health and egg quality, a male’s sperm quality, quantity, structure, and motility decline with age. After their 30s, sperm production starts decreasing, and the ability to fertilize also diminishes.
Normal Sperm Count Range for Conception
WHO Guidelines on Sperm Count
According to the World Health Organization, the normal sperm count ranges from 15 million to 200 million sperm per mL of semen. The WHO states that less than 15 million sperm is considered low hast, which has severe impacts.
Impact of Low Sperm Count
You can easily identify the low sperm count with potential symptoms, such as:
- Decreased facial or body hair.
- Erectile dysfunction.
- No positive pregnancy results even after trying for around six months or a year, which is the inability to impregnate your partner.
- Low sexual desire.
- In the testicle area, you can witness swelling, lumps or pain.
In common, low sperm count makes the chances of pregnancy and conception harder. Even if a successful pregnancy can occur with low sperm quality, still miscarriage can also happen.
So, you and your partner might need to undergo Assisted Reproductive Technologies ARTs such as IVF, ICSI, or IUI.
Factors Affecting Sperm Quality and Count
The impact of low sperm count can be severe, but what factors influence sperm quality?
Here it is: many factors affect sperm production, count, and morphology. Typically, you can split them into two main factors: internal and external factors.
Internal Factors
Hormonal Imbalances
Testosterone is a vital hormone that stimulates sperm production and erection ability. Low levels of testosterone lead to sexual dysfunction, while high levels cause low sperm count.
In that instance, maintaining a balance is essential for a controlled sex drive and proper sperm production. Similar to testosterone, Luteinizing Hormone and Follicle-stimulating hormone are also responsible for proper reproductive function.
Imbalances of these hormones result in low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, depression, and low sperm count, production, morphology, and motility.
Genetic Conditions and Age
Genetic disorders can cause infertility issues in men and affect mature sperm production. This condition is known as spermatogenesis. Chromosomal abnormalities can result in difficulty during conception or increase the risk of miscarriages.
On the other hand, age can be a significant factor affecting sperm production and quality. Because the quality and quantity of sperm start declining at the age of 30.
External Factors
Lifestyle Choices
Poor lifestyle habits are an obvious reason for low sperm production and quality. Some common habits to avoid are smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and illicit drugs.
Excessive stress, sedentary lifestyle habits, improper sleeping patterns, and tight clothing are some important habits influencing your reproductive health externally.
Environmental Influences
Prolonged exposure to industrial chemicals, heavy metals, and too much heat on the scrotum can potentially affect sperm quality.
Radiation can also make the body produce less sperm. If you’re in such an environment, try shifting to other places to improve fertility health.
Tips for Improving Sperm Quality
Decreased sperm count, production, quality, and motility result in infertility issues and can be the main reason for miscarriages.
- However, men can improve sperm quality, production, and motility through implementing some lifestyle changes. Follow these essential steps to enhance the quality of sperm.
- Maintaining a healthy and balanced diet daily.
- Being underweight severely impacts sperm health, so have a health Body Mass Index BMI.
- Practice good habits and stay within the limit to prevent sexually Transmitted Infections, STIs such as gonorrhea and chlamydia.
- Include mindfulness, yoga, and breathing exercises to reduce stress, which can interfere with sperm-producing hormones and reduce sexual function.
- Avoid smoking, alcohol, and drugs.
- Stay away from excessive heat and wear cotton and loose-fitting underwear.
When to Seek Professional Help
Seeking medical help is pivotal because some couples become frustrated as they don’t know the exact reason for infertility, even after planned intercourse.
If you experience any of the mentioned symptoms, you can consider a doctor’s help. They will test your reproductive health and check the sperm count.
Fertility experts perform semen analysis tests to identify the exact condition of your sperm. Through the test results, you can easily identify sperm motility and morphology.
Summary
In the end, consulting a healthcare provider is important if you’re trying to conceive and not witnessing any successful results.
Successful conception requires only one sperm to fertilize the egg, but only a small amount of healthy sperm reaches the egg. So, make sure to take care of your reproductive health and enter into the happy parenting phase.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
An amount less than 15 million sperm per milliliter is considered a low sperm count to get pregnant.
A sedentary lifestyle and improper sleep cycle have severe negative impacts on sperm production and overall reproductive health. According to studies, physically active men have better sperm production and morphology.
Still, couples with lower sperm counts can also conceive naturally. So, doctors recommend to have sex every 2 to 3 days for men with lower sperm count.
Many treatments are available for coping with low sperm count.
- IVF combined with ICSI.
- Hormonal fertility treatment.
- Antibiotic treatment.
- Surgery and artificial donor sperm insemination.
If you’re trying to get pregnant for more than six months or a year, you can consider fertility expert help. They can evaluate your reproductive health and identify the root cause of delayed pregnancy and infertility.
