"Lazy sperm," or sperm with low motility, is known as asthenozoospermia and is a common cause of infertility in men. Sperm motility is the ability of sperm to navigate efficiently through a woman's reproductive system so they can reach and fertilize her egg.
Low sperm count symptoms might include: Problems with sexual function — for example, low sex drive or difficulty maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction) Pain, swelling or a lump in the testicle area. Decreased facial or body hair or other signs of a chromosome or hormone abnormality.
Low sperm motility can be caused by a number of factors including genetics, smoking, or even work induced health conditions.
If a person has low sperm motility (also called asthenozoospermia), it means that the majority of sperm aren't swimming properly. This can affect fertility as sperm may not be able to get to an egg and fertilize it. Note the use of majority: it's perfectly normal if you have a few slow swimmers.
Low sperm motility, also called asthenozoospermia, harms men's fertility and chances of conception. For a pregnancy to occur, a sperm cell must reach and fertilize the egg. If your ejaculate contains less progressive sperm cells than normal, your chances of conception decrease.
Meanwhile, the defective sperm is incapable of forming its pronucleus. With only one half of the chromosomes functional, the plan for building an embryo is incomplete and the process shuts down. These eggs are known as 1pn and have no potential for life.
Sperm with poor motility can still be used to fertilize eggs through IVF. By placing sperm and egg in close proximity in a petri dish, the poorly motile sperm do not have to travel far to reach the egg and fertilization is controlled in the lab. Low sperm counts can still achieve fertilization through IVF.
Usually, the sperm reaches the egg within 15 to 45 minutes of ejaculation. However, the process could be much longer than that if you haven't ovulated yet by the time you have sex, because sperm can live inside a reproductive tract and wait for an egg for up to five days.
A trained expert checks your sperm count, their shape, movement, and other characteristics. In general, if you have a higher number of normal-shaped sperm, it means you have higher fertility. But there are plenty of exceptions to this. A lot of guys with low sperm counts or abnormal semen are still fertile.
Certain antibiotics or antidepressants, such as lithium, can reduce semen volume. Farooq says that marijuana use has also been associated with a reduction in male ejaculate. Age. As men get older, the amount of semen released during ejaculation often decreases.
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.
The results of the semen analysis tests tells about your ability to conceive (start a pregnancy). Even if the semen test shows low sperm numbers or no sperm, it may not mean you are permanently infertile. It may just show there's a problem with the growth or delivery of sperm. More testing may be needed.
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.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) may be an option if you have a slightly low sperm count and you've been trying to conceive naturally with your partner for at least 2 years. During IVF, an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory.
The answer is no. The structure of the sperm does not affect the baby in terms of causing any defects physically or mentally. The only issue that can cause due to abnormal sperm morphology is that, depending upon the percentage and the density of abnormal sperms, the pregnancy can be delayed or not occur altogether.
If your partner will be providing a semen specimen on the day of the egg retrieval, we recommend abstaining from intercourse for at least two days prior to the IVF procedure but not more than 6 days. This will help to obtain optimal sperm quality for the IVF procedure.
The sperm can also be the cause of a mature egg not fertilizing. The semen sample may have a low number of sperm that are capable of penetrating the egg's membranes. This is often associated with a high percentage of abnormally shaped sperm. In severe cases, this may result in total failure of fertilization.
Immune system problems.
A problem with a woman's immune system can lead to pregnancy loss. Antibodies in a woman's system can fail to recognize a pregnancy. Or there may be an abnormal immune response to the pregnancy. Women can also develop antisperm antibodies, which attack and destroy sperm.
Occasionally, two sperm are known to fertilize a single egg; this 'double fertilization' is thought to happen in about 1% of human conceptions. An embryo created this way doesn't usually survive, but a few cases are known to have made it — these children are chimaeras of cells with X and Y chromosomes.
Sperm count and IVF
IVF has a higher success rate than IUI. IVF birth rates are around 25%, with varying degrees of sperm health. Digging deeper, IVF also requires a minimum sperm count for maximum success. However, success rates appear better with advanced IVF vs IUI for cases of less than 10 million sperm.
At least 10 x 10(6) spermatozoa/ml, of which at least 30% are motile and 15% have progressive motility, are required for IVF or insemination therapy, despite the fact that pregnancies can be achieved with lower parameters. As a minimum, 20% of spermatozoa should be of normal morphology.
Treatments for low sperm count include: Surgery. For example, a varicocele can often be surgically corrected or an obstructed vas deferens can be repaired. Prior vasectomies can be reversed.