Male Fertility Test – Making Your Sperm Stronger

Male fertility tests are being used more than ever before. There is something not quite right with men’s sperm – sperm counts have been on a rapid decline since the 50s. Back in the 80s men, on average, had 85% normal sperm and 15% abnormal sperm. Today those figures have been reversed: 15% of sperm is normal and 85% or sperm is abnormal. And these numbers are getting worse.

The World Health Organization (WHO) have had to lower the ‘normal’ sperm reference ranges over the years to accommodate for these declining numbers, as otherwise most men would test as infertile. Today according to WHO <30% normal looking sperm is considered to be insufficient for a natural conception.

The most concerning part about this sad state of affairs is that fertility doctors are not too concerned about these figures. Why? Because all that’s needed for IVF is ONE normal looking sperm. Although we are talking about low percentages here, an average ejaculate contains millions of sperm and out of those millions there ought be at least a few fit enough to fertilize your egg. Unfortunately the lower the sperm rates the better it is for IVF clinics. So this is where you have to step into the picture and change this scenario for the better. Because the good news is, sperm quality and quantity can be treated and abnormal sperm transformed into super-sperm in as little as 3-4 months.

The rapid decline of quality and quantity of sperm coincides with the introduction of processed, pre-packaged, pre-cooked food treated with pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, colors and preservatives. And a host of other convenient household and personal care products.

Men in particular are not too worried about what’s in their shampoo, tooth paste or their pre-made frozen dinner or a take-away. Convenience and value-for-money is what appeals to the majority of men. Most of the men I know (with the exception of my husband) will have their bathrooms and fridges stocked with well known and easily recognizable commercial brands found in every supermarket. And some men (such as my father) find it hard to accept that their toothpaste could be bad for their prostate or that their beloved late-night snack in the fridge contains cancer-provoking chemicals. As a naturopath well versed in the chemical maze it’s really frustrating and sad for me to watch my loved ones slowly poison them selves. Parents rarely listen to their children and vice-versa, so this is a battle I will have to let go off.

If you’ve been trying to conceive and your partner hasn’t had his sperm tested in less than a year it’s time to consider a male fertility test: a sperm analysis.

You can get this done by an andrologist at any professional fertility clinic.

Here are the normal sperm ranges:

• Volume: mL (normal 2-6 mL)
• Sperm concentration: mill.mL (normal 20-250 mill/mL)
• Sperm count: mill/mL (normal >60 mill/mL)
• Sperm motility: motile % (normal >50%)
• Sperm morphology: % (normal >30%)

Although according to WHO 30% of normal looking sperm is considered fine for conception, Dr. Kruger, the founder of the ‘Kruger morphology method’ begs to differ. He recommends the sperm shape (morphology) should be looked at more carefully as there are more abnormal looking sperm than previously thought. Based on his recommendations, normal sperm morphology (shape) should be 14% and not 30%. The Kruger morphology test is widely used today to determine the exact percentage of abnormally looking sperm.

A sperm looks abnormal if it has:

• Two heads
• Very large oval head
• Crooked head
• Bent body
• Tapered head
• Two of more tails or bodies
• Curled tail
• Tail with kinks
• Short tail
• Round head
• Pin sized head

Sperm with these shape abnormalities may not be able to swim, move in the right direction, survive the journey to the egg, or penetrate the egg. Even if fertilization occurs the DNA may be damaged resulting in failed implantation, miscarriage or malformations.

So What should a normal sperm look like?

In 1992 WHO defined a normal sperm shape as follows:

“A normal spermatozoon has an oval head shape with regular outline and a well-defined acrosomal region covering 40-70 % of head; vacuoles occupy less than 20% of the head area. The head: length : 4-5,5 µm, width : 2,5-3,5 µm and lenght/width ratio : 1,5-1,75; no cytoplasmic droplets more than 1/3 of the size of a normal sperm head”.- WHO, 1992.

What can cause sperm to become abnormal?

• Ingestion of social poisons: caffeine (coffee), alcohol, smoking, marijuana, other recreational drugs
• Ingestion of pharmaceutical drugs
• Poor diet
• Poor nutritional status
• Radiation exposure
• Toxicity (heavy metals, pesticides, food additives etc…)
• Oxidative damage to the sperm as a result of any and all of the above

My Pregnancy rule of thumb is:

‘If it would be bad for an infant – don’t have it yourself at least 90 days before conception’. And this applies to both men and women!

Male fertility test is easy to perform, painless and absolutely worth doing if love making is not turning out to be fruitful. Abnormal results can be your fuel and motivation for change for the better. The good news is most of my client’s sperm counts after following my program are not only in the normal ranges but above average. There is a natural solution and that’s the best part about abnormal sperm!

What are your thoughts? Did your sperm analysis come back as abnormal? What steps are you taking to correct this?

© 2010 Iva Keene and Natural Fertility Prescription

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