When it comes to making babies, both the quantity and
quality of sperm your partner produces matters. An
average ejaculation contains about 180 million sperm (about
66 million per ml). When semen is analyzed doctors look at
more than just how much semen is ejaculated. The amount
of semen produced per ejaculation can vary quite a bit,
anywhere from 1-6 ml of semen per ejaculation is
considered normal. Likewise, the amount of sperm
produced during an ejaculation can vary greatly. The
quantity of sperm in a semen sample – or sperm count – is
measured per ml; 20-150 million sperm per ml is considered
normal. A sperm count below 20 million per ml indicates a
low sperm count and could result in infertility.
While your guy may produce millions of sperm during an
ejaculation only a handful of them – about 200 sperm – are
hardy enough to make it past the cervix and travel far
enough up the fallopian tube to fertilize the egg. With this in
mind, let’s take a closer look at some things that can affect
a man’s sperm.
Some basic info about sperm:
Sperm are produced in the man’s testes, mature in the
epididymis, and finally travel through the vas deferens and
out through the urethra during an ejaculation. This process
takes about 75 days.
Sperm makes up only a small percentage of what is
ejaculated.
Healthy sperm can live up to 5 days inside the woman’s
vagina.
20 million sperm per ml (or higher) of semen is considered
normal.
Some abnormal sperm are usually found in most semen
samples. As long as 40% or more are shaped correctly, this
is considered normal.
They don’t call sperm swimmers for no reason. A normal
sperm moves in a forward direction. A man is most likely
fertile if at least half of his sperm are forward moving
“swimmers”.
Things that can affect a man’s sperm
You probably know about some of the biggies like smoking,
alcohol, illicit drug use or hot tubs impairing a man’s fertility
but here are a few things you may not know about:
1. Morning sex = higher sperm count: If you are trying to
conceive, time intercourse when his sperm count is at its
highest. Researchers have found that men generally have a
higher sperm count in the mornings. Men’s sexual interest
may be higher in the mornings as well.
2. His weight matters: Women are not the only ones who
have weight related fertility issues. Men who are
overweight or underweight are more likely to have problems
with infertility. Having too much or too little body fat may
affect a man’s hormone levels. Scientists in one Finnish
study found that a 20 lb weight gain may increase a man’s
chance of being infertile by 10 percent.
3. Have more sex not less: Men with low sperm counts are
often advised to abstain from sex in order to improve their
sperm count, but new research suggests that while this may
improve sperm count, too much abstinence can damage the
DNA of the sperm that is produced. Australian researchers
have found that having daily sex actually improves the
quality, if not the quantity of sperm. The thought behind this
is that regular ejaculations get rid of the old sperm and
make way for newer healthier sperm.
4. Folic acid is not only good for the goose, but it is also
good for the gander. Most women know that taking a folic
acid supplement is important during childbearing years
because it can prevent certain birth defects. You may not
have known that it is also important for men to eat a diet
containing folic acid. A recent study by researchers at the
University of California, Berkley found that men who had
lower levels of folic acid (or folate) in their diets had a higher
rate of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm.
5. Avoid soy products. A recent study published by Oxford
University Press’s online publication Human Reproduction,
suggests that eating a diet high in soy foods could cause
men to have a lower sperm count. According to the study,
men who ate soy foods were more likely to have lower
sperm counts (although not necessarily abnormally low)
than men who did not eat soy.
6. Skip the lubricants. Lubricants can impede the
movement of sperm. A woman’s cervical mucous is
designed to help transport sperm, but many commercial
lubricants have the opposite effect. Lubricants like KY Jelly,
baby oil, or petroleum jelly have been shown to slow down
or damage sperm. Saliva can also damage sperm. One
lubricant that is okay to use is Pre-seed. According to one
study in the ASRM’s journal of Fertility and Sterility, Pre-
seed was not shown to harm or slow down sperm.
7. Watch out for cell phones and laptops. There have been
a few studies that have shown that excessive use of laptops
or cell phones can cause sperm damage. Laptops, if placed
on a man’s lap, get hot over time. The increase in scrotal
temperature may have a negative effect on a man’s sperm if
he keeps a laptop sitting on his lap for extended periods of
time. Similarly, cell phone emissions might also cause
sperm damage. Keeping a cell phone in a close proximity to
a man’s scrotum could potentially cause a decrease in
sperm quality, according to a small research study from the
Cleveland Clinic.