HELP! Low sperm morphology?

[maw16]

Looking for some reassurance! My partner just got his sperm analysis back with the following results

Sperm density: 49.8 10^6/ml (49.8 million / ml)
Sperm motility: 59.55%
Morphology/normal forms: 2%
Sample volume: 3.96ml

The GP said morphology is nothing to worry about as the other numbers are fine but we're really worried. I just had an update call with our fertility consultant (I also have PCOS) and I totally forgot to ask her about his latest sperm test results, very frustrated with myself.

The last sperm test he had done in November came back with the following:

Sperm density: 46.8 10^6/ml
Sperm motility 53.35%
Morphology: 4%
Sample volume: 6.12mls

Should we be worried that his morphology has dropped? He was ill with a cold and sinus infection when the week prior and week of sample collection. Could this have affected his results?

if previously it was fine it may have just been a bad bunch. i'd retest again in a few weeks. everything else looks good so wouldn't stress too much

Illness can affect morphology, and i think the guidance is that you wait a few weeks and test again. As far as I can recall, morphology is less of an issue if you have a high sperm count (which this seems to be?) as the volume counteracts it. Obvs talk to the doctor but there are vitamins your partner can take that would improve the results (proseed I think it’s called). The lifecycle of a sperm is around 3 months from the very beginning of development so it can take time for life style / diet changes to show an effect.

@absy the GP did mention proxeed and said he can take those if he wants to but there's conflicted evidence as to how much difference it makes. He said it's nothing to worry about as his count has actually increased a little and morphology was fine 6 months ago so called his results 'essentially normal'. 2% just seems very low!

We're 14 months in now so just feeling a little deflated I think.

@maw16 my dh has a sperm count less than 1 million with a 1% morphology and I am somehow naturally 8 weeks with twins. No idea how! So I wouldn't stress that much.

As pp the sperm count is high enough it should couteract the slightly lower morphology

@bells3032 wow congratulations, that's amazing! That makes me feel a lot better!

I'm hoping that it was just a bad sample, as previously his morphology was okay. We did have a pretty hectic month - he had a stag do and a few other events where he probably drank more alcohol than normal. And, like I mentioned he was ill for about 2 weeks.

I just tend to over analyse everything these days!

@maw16 think you answered your own question there - alcohol and illness can cause it. your previous one was fine. i wouldn't worry

My (now ex)DH also had very low morphology and I ended up with twins. He had a decent sperm count like your DH though

@Nahhh did you conceive your twins naturally if you don’t mind me asking? Did they say his morphology was nothing to worry about?

We did. We were told morphology wasn’t such an issue with a decent sperm count because obviously 1% of 300 is better than 2% of 100.

We did make some lifestyle changes between the speed analysis and the pregnancy though, he wore looser pants, stopped putting his laptop on his lap and took some supplements. I’ve no idea if any of that helped though.