When a couple struggles to conceive, more often than not, society tends to pin the blame on the woman. Yes, certain gynaecological conditions do affect their ability to conceive and sustain a viable pregnancy, but it takes two to tango.
Fertility problems are a man’s problem too and this article discusses how sperm quality affects a couple’s chance of conceiving.
Are you sub-fertile or infertile?
The terms subfertility and infertility are often used when discussing the issue of fertility. While many use the terms interchangeably and while they may sound seemingly similar, they don’t carry the same meaning.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), infertility refers to the inability of a sexually active, non-contracepting couple to achieve pregnancy after a year.
Sub-fertility, on the other hand, generally describes any form of reduced fertility with prolonged time of unwanted non-conception.
It’s important to understand the distinction between the two terms as management of each can differ greatly. In addition, it is unlikely for a couple who suffers from infertility to conceive without medical intervention.
Fertility problems due to sperm quality
Although it takes just a sperm and ovum for fertilisation to occur, the male testicle isn’t taking any chances. For good measure with fertilisation, a single ejaculation floods the female uterus with millions of sperm.
Despite this incredible number, some couples still find it difficult to achieve the sperm and ovum union. And you’ve guessed it, one of the main reasons for this is the quality of the sperm.
It’s certainly easy for a man to assume that their sperms’ quality is A-okay because the naked eye cannot see beyond the viscous and milky appearance of the semen.
While the semen looks set to breed an entire civilisation, the sperm swimming inside it may not be up to the task.
To assess the quality of sperm, a semen analysis is carried out to evaluate different aspects of a person’s sperm and problems such as:
Oligospermia: In layman’s terms, this is known as a low sperm count. According to WHO’s definition, oligospermia is defined as sperm concentration that is less than 20 × 106/mL. A low sperm count will reduce the likelihood of fertilisation.
Asthenozoospermia: This is a problem known as reduced sperm motility. A person is said to have this problem if they have less than 50% spermatozoa with forward progression.
Teratozoospermia: This is a problem associated with the sperm’s morphology. Normal semen should have at least 30% spermatozoa with normal morphology. The size and shape of your sperm can affect their ability to fertilise an egg.
Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia: This problem greatly reduces the sperm quality as it signifies anomalies in all of the three aforementioned variables. Needless to say, the likelihood of fertilisation is significantly reduced if a man has this condition.
Aside from the above results, a semen analysis may also reveal no sperm at all and this is known as Azoospermia. Beyond sperm variables, this analysis also looks at other aspects of semen such as:
- Semen volume
- Semen pH
- Fructose level
This article first appeared on Hello Doktor and was medically reviewed by Panel Perubatan Hello Doktor. The Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.