Smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking certain medications can lower sperm numbers. Other causes of
Its causes include a blockage along the reproductive tract, hormonal problems, ejaculation problems or issues with testicular structure or function. Many causes are treatable and fertility can be restored.
You may be able to reverse the condition if the cause is something you can stop, like taking certain medications or keeping your testicles too warm. You may not be able to change some causes of low sperm count, such as one that happens as a result of genetic issues.
Causes of male infertility
Abnormal sperm production or function due to undescended testicles, genetic defects, health problems such as diabetes, or infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, mumps or HIV. Enlarged veins in the testes (varicocele) also can affect the quality of sperm.
Natural pregnancy is not possible with so less sperm count, and it is a case of severe oligospermia. A man with 1 or 2 million sperm counts per millilitre of semen may need assisted reproductive technology to impregnate a female, and he may be a candidate for ICSI-IVF.
Male fertility generally starts to reduce around age 40 to 45 years when sperm quality decreases. Increasing male age reduces the overall chances of pregnancy and increases time to pregnancy (the number of menstrual cycles it takes to become pregnant) and the risk of miscarriage and fetal death.
Can you still conceive if you're dealing with male infertility? 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.
Having a low sperm count decreases the odds that one of your sperm will fertilize your partner's egg, resulting in pregnancy. Nonetheless, many men who have a low sperm count are still able to father a child.
Some studies suggest that moderate ejaculation (2–4 times per week) is associated with a lower prostate cancer risk. However, ejaculating more often doesn't mean your cancer risk drops even more.
The concentration of sperm is what makes the semen cloudy and thick, so if your ejaculate is watery it is possible that you have a low sperm count. This doesn't mean you're infertile (so precautions to prevent pregnancy still need to be taken for couples that don't want to get pregnant).
Most research supports the use of lifestyle changes, natural remedies, and dietary adjustments to help a male manage and improve a low sperm count. Such lifestyle changes include adopting a regular exercise regimen and sleep schedule, as well as avoiding tobacco, excess alcohol, and illicit drugs.
Men start losing their fertility at age 40.
In a study of more than 1,900 couples, irrespective of the woman's age, IVF attempts involving men 40 or older failed 70 percent more often than IVF attempts involving men younger than 30. Previous theory: Older men produce fewer kids because they get less sex.
While there are some situations in which male infertility can be reversed with medication or surgery, in most cases, assisted reproductive technology (ART; for example, in vitro fertilization or "IVF") is the recommended approach. (See 'Assisted reproductive technologies' below.)
For healthy semen samples collected between 5:00am and 7:30am were found to exhibit a statistically higher sperm concentration, total sperm count and a higher percentage of normally shaped sperm, compared to samples produced later in the day. Sperm motility was not influenced by the time of sample production.
Age and sperm
Men younger than 40 have a better chance of fathering a child than those older than 40. The quality of the sperm men produce seems to decline as they get older. Most men make millions of new sperm every day, but men older than 40 have fewer healthy sperm than younger men.
Peak male fertility is around 25-29 years old. Sperm quality begins to decline at 30. At 45, men begin to experience a significant decrease in semen volume. Older men can also take longer to conceive a child.
Lifestyle choices can lower sperm numbers. Smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking certain medications can lower sperm numbers. Other causes of low sperm numbers include long-term sickness (such as kidney failure), childhood infections (such as mumps), and chromosome or hormone problems (such as low testosterone).
Male fertility problems include poor quality sperm, low sperm count or blockages in the tubes of the reproductive system. Treatment options for poor sperm quality include inseminating the man's partner with a concentrated sample of the man's semen and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).