In order for a couple to conceive, the male partner must have at least 40 million sperm per ejaculate. Thus, the sperm count plays a vital role in diagnosing male infertility. Statistics show that for more than 40% of couples struggling to have children, the reason was linked to male infertility, and not solely a problem with the female partner.
Decreased sperm production can be a temporary problem, related to causes such as extreme heat exposure, riding a bicycle for long hours, ill-fitting briefs, lack of sleep, emotional stress, and performance anxiety. Fortunately, these patients can benefit from some lifestyle changes that can increase their sperm count and their partners’ chances of getting pregnant.
Over six percent of males between ages 15 and 50 years have chronic infertility, which in turn is caused by a wide range of problems. One such problem is varicocele, an enlargement of the network of veins in the scrotum. Low sperm count can be due to certain lifestyle choices and patterns, such as wearing tight underwear, staying in a sauna or Jacuzzi for prolonged periods of time, or even stress.
Here in the Philippines, semen examination is available at many health centers, wellness clinics, and fertility clinics. These centers offer high quality services and fertility counseling. They even perform in-vitro fertilization and other assistive reproductive therapies, which have many success stories to their credit.
Since a low sperm count can be due to a combination of factors, eliminating them, or improving the deficiencies would have positive results. Here are some important points to follow:
- Low sperm count has been shown to improve by taking more vitamin C, folic acid, and zinc. Simply improving overall nutrition would indeed be beneficial.
- Prolonged exposure to heat should be avoided.
- Prevention of unnecessary stress, and increased relaxation are also key elements to healthy sperm production.
- Recreational drug use such as alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and anabolic steroids should be kept at a minimum, if not completely eliminated from your habits. These also place undue stress on vital organs, and affect reproductive organs as well.
- Weight management is also imperative, since being overweight or underweight can adversely affect levels of sex hormones.
- Avoid overexertion when exercising: Overexertion stimulates the production of high levels of adrenal steroid hormones, which can lead to lowered testosterone levels and sperm production).
- Avoid environmental hazards and toxins such as lead, paint, radioactive substances, mercury, pesticides, heavy metals, boron, and benzene).
- Get plenty of sleep
By making the necessary changes to lifestyle patterns, a man’s fertility would improve, and the chances for a couple to achieve conception would also increase.