Having a low sperm count can significantly make it more difficult to conceive naturally, and although it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg, the journey getting there can be a tough one! So, the more sperm your partner has, the better, but it is possible to get pregnant if your partner has low sperm count, even with no treatment.
Male factor infertility is a typical problem but conception itself is a complex process with numerous hurdles. Fortunately, if your partner suffers from male infertility, you and your partner can still have biological children. Treatment can increase your chances, and options are available.
The first step to treating male infertility is finding out what is likely causing it. If you have been unsuccessful in your attempts to conceive, it is time to work with a fertility clinic near you. You and your partner can increase your chances of conception by talking to a healthcare provider. You could consider trying assisted reproductive therapies like IVF using donor sperm. As long as a man produces some amount of sperm, there’s a chance he could get a woman pregnant. In fact, some couples dealing with low sperm counts or abnormal sperm are still able to conceive without any additional interventions. But others might need help in the form of fertility treatments. If you and your partner haven’t been able to get pregnant after trying for a year, consult with your doctors.
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A low sperm count, also called oligospermia, is where a man has fewer than 15 million sperm per milli-litre of semen, while the average is around 75 million sperm per millilitre of semen. This condition is often a major cause of male infertility. There are many reasons why a man might have a low sperm count, and in some cases, it may not be obvious as to what’s causing the problem. Some common risk factors can include being obese, having experienced trauma or surgery in or around the testicles, and taking certain medications that can interfere with sperm production.
A man’s sperm count can be low for a variety of reasons, and in some circumstances, the cause may not be visible. Obesity, testicular damage or surgery, and the use of certain drugs that can interfere with sperm production are also common risk factors. Other risk factors for low sperm count include smoking, which impacts sperm volume, count, and motility. Drinking alcohol might lead to impotence and lower sperm quality.
Drug usage can disrupt hormone levels and cause DNA harm. Approximately one third of marijuana consumers have decreased sperm counts. Diabetes is associated with reduced levels of testosterone. Luckily, most of these are related to lifestyle choices and environmental factors that can easily be changed in order to reverse the effects of infertility.
To increase the chances of conception, men that have a low sperm count should consider incorporating certain lifestyle choices that can help increase sperm production and overall wellbeing by doing things such as obtaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, and eating a healthy, balanced diet.
Men can have surgery to remove sperm transport blockages or swollen veins (varicocele), albeit this is a rare option. Hormone treatments and pharmaceuticals can address infertility caused by high or low hormone levels, as well as issues with hormone metabolism. But the fact is that pregnancy with low sperm count may necessitate fertility treatment and several factors contribute to successful conception.
The bottom line is that a healthy sperm must reach a matured egg and fertilize it. As said earlier, if a man has a low sperm count, there are substantially fewer sperms available to try that voyage, reducing the chances of conception significantly.
Treatment for male infertility varies depending on the cause but the majority of treatments for men with significantly low sperm counts or motility are mostly effective with combination of IVF and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). The multi-step procedure stimulates ovulation so that matured eggs can be collected from you and fertilized in the lab and the healthiest embryo(s) are then transferred into your uterus
IVF has a high rate of success, but by combining IVF with ICSI, the success rate can be increased even further for men with low sperm count. ICSI involves collecting a sperm sample and cleansing it to isolate the strongest, healthiest sperm. Then a single sperm is collected and injected directly into the egg for fertilization. IVF with ICSI is often the best treatment option for men with low sperm count. If you’re still not having any luck getting pregnant with your partner after several failed attempts, then treatment might be the next step for both of you to take. Just keep on trying, there’s always the possibility that you can conceive successfully with him.
