At what point do NHS test males?

[TTCIrishlass]

I have DS aged 6, late MMC in November, chem pregnancy in March. Had full round of bloods (14vials) take by recurrent pregnancy loss clinic. Nothing showed up that should prevent pregnancy.my late MMC was nothing genetic/chromosome related, it was a tight cord.

I take probiotics, folic acid and vit d as recommended by gynae. Yet nothing.

I track ovulation so i know im ovulating and we do the deed and use conception friendly lube.

I eat healthily, walk most days and don't drink a lot of alcohol.

Why is my DH not being tested for sperm issues, is this something we can request from NHS?

Feeling super deflated.

I know it’s very deflating but it’s not unusual to take up to a year to get pregnant. Sorry about your MMC and chemical pregnancy, I’ve been through an ectopic and know how upsetting this can be. But you did conceive which is a sign that things are probably in order. My first two were conceived within a matter of months, the third took just over a year - I’ll be honest it never occurred to me in that year to get anything checked out, it’s not irregular. I reckon for someone to look into it you need to have been trying for at least a year with no success. I think each time you try the chances of sperm reaching egg is about 50 percent. Then a viable pregnancy is about 1 in 4.
Ask your GP of course, but I think they’ll tell you to wait a few more months. And as frustrating as the wait is, I wouldn’t be too worried.

I'm already being seen by Gynae and loss specialists. It's standard for anyone over 35 who had a late mc to be seen where I live...or over 35 & trying for over 6months.

All my tests have been fine...I just wonder why testing sperm isn't a thing as part of the investigation

I’m surprised it isn’t tested sooner too. Although, having been through the process, I know that they look to the female first. I have wondered if it is to avoid damaging fragile male egos because that was the only reason I could come up with at the time.

Unlike testing female fertility, a sperm test is simple, non-invasive, and comparatively cheap. Even using it just to ‘rule things out’ would make sense to my mind.

It was only when we started IVF, that we discovered DH had sperm issues (despite having fathered children before). IVF didn’t work for us at the time but one year later, we conceived naturally.

Another miscarriage and still nothing about testing hubby...just throwing expensive progesterone drugs at me for next time

In my experience fertility clinics and docs are run by gynaecologists so there is very little focus on men. My fertility is fine and DPs not and after two failed rounds of IVF the first thing the consultant did was suggest donor eggs!!! It's just the go to. Obviously the man is half of what's going on...

I would suggest paying for a private sperm test to put your mind at rest. It's quick and cheap.

Can you get it done privately? Our problem was DH and I m glad I knew quickly to avoid me having unnecessary procedures

My DP and I were both tested after 6months of ttc

Our GP did sperm test quite early (6 months) and when we were referred to fertility clinic they did the same tests. The standard tests are for count, motility, and morphology. To my understanding, these are only markers for conception (the sperms ability to meet and fertilise the egg) and would say very little about the viability of pregnancy once conception has been achieved. I think what you would need is a DNA fragmentation test, which looks at the genetic material of the sperm as genetic abnormalities can cause miscarriage. I don't think NHS offers this and thinks you might have to go private.

To add to the above, I think you could request the general sperm panel (count, motility, morphology), but it doesn't seem that you have a problem conceiving.

Thanks for the responses. I'm under gynae...would we request via gp or gynae?

Yes a private sperm test can be around £100-£200. We tried this new AI driven company which gave very detailed, quick results without going to a clinic. mymojo.ai/products/mojo-sperm-test?

My GP was the opposite and said that one of the first things he suggests and the local fertility clinic will suggest (as I had already had all the bloods done all normal) is a sperm analysis and to get one booked right away. I ended up pregnant so we cancelled it then had 2 losses so the GO again told us to get a sperm analysis booked in asap but I’ve ended up pregnant again and now 7.5 weeks. If I have another loss we will book it in and I’ll have further checks to but my GP said in my area they will want to do the sperm analysis first

even if you can conceive there can be an issue with sperm. It could be an issue with sperm dna

@pippabg @allgoodthings84 Hi from your experience, what sort of tests/ how far would NHS fertility clinic go to investigate the male? If there are issues found in the sperm test, would it just be the usual advice (no smoking/drinking/eat well) or do they actually help you with iui / other tests?

@Sunshine2243 the NHS in my experience did nothing to help improve my OHs SA - they immediately suggested IVF. I think this is because it's really time consuming and unreliable to try to improve sperm and there are so few guarantees it will work. I was really surprised by this and very frustrated. They didn't offer an examination or any supplementation. We went privately for an examination to check for bacterial infection, varicolcele etc. I did my own research into supplements. Beyond that advice is no hot baths, no tight boxers, no cycling, no jacuzzis, no laptops on lap, 1 coffee a day maximum, share a bottle of wine a week - that was from Dr Ramsay who is renowned as one of the best urologists.

@TTCagain85 your issue clearly isn't conception as you've been conceiving so having a SA will not tell you anything. You could investigate DNA fragmentation via a private test... you may have just been super unlucky. Statistically, it is much less likely to happen a 3rd time although I appreciate that is no conciliation. So sorry for the losses you've experienced x