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Conception

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Original poster

Sperm!

19 replies

Mumbrava · 31/01/2023 14:05

Hello everyone,

we only recently found out my husband has 2 percent sperm morphology which is below average. His sperm count and motility were way above average.

this has come as a surprise. We conceived our first child straightaway and this was 6 years ago. We waited quite a while to try again and last year in June we decided to try for the second.

again I fell pregnant quite soon after. Unfortunately I found out I had a missed miscarriage at my first scan which was devastating.

We have been trying to conceive ever since and it has been nearly six months and nothing so far. We are both 34 years so old. We do not drink or smoke or take caffeine at all. We have a healthy diet and my husband exercises moderately. We have been religiously taking supplement for some time now.

all my tests came back normal so we decided to do a semen analysis for my husband. As mentioned earlier, everything else was above average except for morphology.

my question is how likely is it that morphology can be so low after 2 successful and quick conceptions? He is healthy and clearly able to conceive before and quite soon.

is there any possible other explanation? We are devastated and shocked and incredibly sad. Please, if anyone, can advise?

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumbrava · 31/01/2023 14:08

I would also like to add that the precise range for sperm morphology can vary, but typically a normal or healthy sperm morphology range is between 4 and 14 percent

OP posts:
Raindrops2015 · 31/01/2023 14:38

Is he on any medication? Poor morphology could indicate sperm dna fragmentation which can increase risk of miscarriage. There is a test for dna of sperm and it might give you more answers.

I'm so sorry about your miscarriage.

Original poster
Mumbrava · 31/01/2023 15:17

Raindrops2015 · 31/01/2023 14:38

Is he on any medication? Poor morphology could indicate sperm dna fragmentation which can increase risk of miscarriage. There is a test for dna of sperm and it might give you more answers.

I'm so sorry about your miscarriage.

He’s not on any medication thankfully. Might have to enquire into the dna fragmentation but I read somewhere that they are not linked. Worth looking into regardless.

OP posts:
FlyOnTheWall89 · 31/01/2023 17:11

@Mumbrava morphology is not hugely important if he has way above average count. Sperm varies too so he may have had higher morphology / a 'better' SA had he been tested 6 years ago so don't rely on that. Sounds like it may just take a bit longer this time. I wouldn't bother with a DNA frag test at this point - there is no treatment for it except IVF with ICSI so whilst it gives you information, I'm not sure at this point it's particularly useful. Just ensure he isn't drinking more than a coffee a day, no hot balls, no excessive drinking etc. He could also take a supplement. My OH went from 0% morphology to 9% with tightening up lifestyle and lots of supplements. But my OH also hd borderline other things too so technically you should be in a much better position! Good luck xx

Got2besoon · 31/01/2023 17:19

My consultant said my DH's 2% morphology wasn't a concern as his other parameters were normal (not high, just normal).

He did suggest he started on Proxeed Plus, which takes about 3 months to have effect.

Original poster
Mumbrava · 31/01/2023 20:00

FlyOnTheWall89 · 31/01/2023 17:11

@Mumbrava morphology is not hugely important if he has way above average count. Sperm varies too so he may have had higher morphology / a 'better' SA had he been tested 6 years ago so don't rely on that. Sounds like it may just take a bit longer this time. I wouldn't bother with a DNA frag test at this point - there is no treatment for it except IVF with ICSI so whilst it gives you information, I'm not sure at this point it's particularly useful. Just ensure he isn't drinking more than a coffee a day, no hot balls, no excessive drinking etc. He could also take a supplement. My OH went from 0% morphology to 9% with tightening up lifestyle and lots of supplements. But my OH also hd borderline other things too so technically you should be in a much better position! Good luck xx

Thank you so much for your reply. The last time I was pregnant was only 6 months ago and then I had my miscarriage. I fell pregnant quite quickly. Could morphology change that much over 6 months? It just surprises me how low it is considering how quickly I fell pregnant before. He’s been on many vitamins including coq10 the last two months.

once we found out about his low morphology he has started taking proxeed. It’s been only 7 days.

his sperm concentration was 127mml
And his total count was 497.8 M per ejaculate
motility: 47 per cent
Volume: 3.9

from this and the little research I’ve done..I’m assuming this is above average.

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumbrava · 31/01/2023 20:02

Got2besoon · 31/01/2023 17:19

My consultant said my DH's 2% morphology wasn't a concern as his other parameters were normal (not high, just normal).

He did suggest he started on Proxeed Plus, which takes about 3 months to have effect.

Thank you for your reply. This is reassuring. We are so worried that we’ve been looking into ivf since hearing the news. I’m not sure if we are rushing into things and over panicking but we’ve always wanted a larger family and this news has broken us.

OP posts:
Anonbaby · 31/01/2023 20:31

@Mumbrava i wouldn’t worry about it at all. My OH had 2% morphology and we fell pregnant a few weeks after he had his test. He was retested and it was 6% so it fluctuates all the time

Original poster
Mumbrava · 31/01/2023 21:19

Anonbaby · 31/01/2023 20:31

@Mumbrava i wouldn’t worry about it at all. My OH had 2% morphology and we fell pregnant a few weeks after he had his test. He was retested and it was 6% so it fluctuates all the time

Thank you for this. It’s reassuring hearing such positive news like this. All I’ve been reading online is how terrible of a situation it is and that my only option is ivf or icsi.

OP posts:
Ruffpuff · 31/01/2023 21:30

Just thought it might be helpful to know that in women around age 30-35 who have healthy fertility there’s only have around a 15-30% chance of getting pregnant each cycle (78% in a year). I think up to 30 it’s about 20-25% each cycle. So it can take it’s time naturally, even if you’ve conceived quickly before.

There may not be any issue with you and your partner’s fertility at all, it could just be that the odds haven’t gone your way yet. It really surprised me when I found out. This is why doctors say not to worry unless it’s been longer than a year. Try not to stress, I know it can be all consuming sometimes.

Anonbaby · 31/01/2023 21:45

@Mumbrava no worries at all! A different story TTC my third though. We’ve been going two years now and nothing! Our latest SA was under the threshold across the board, yet we have two children and the previous SA was fine so from what I can see it’s a constantly moving picture

Original poster
Mumbrava · 01/02/2023 11:22

Ruffpuff · 31/01/2023 21:30

Just thought it might be helpful to know that in women around age 30-35 who have healthy fertility there’s only have around a 15-30% chance of getting pregnant each cycle (78% in a year). I think up to 30 it’s about 20-25% each cycle. So it can take it’s time naturally, even if you’ve conceived quickly before.

There may not be any issue with you and your partner’s fertility at all, it could just be that the odds haven’t gone your way yet. It really surprised me when I found out. This is why doctors say not to worry unless it’s been longer than a year. Try not to stress, I know it can be all consuming sometimes.

Thank you for your message. I agree with you but it’s crazy to think how fast some people can fall pregnant and for others it can take months or years, even when there is no obvious problem. Feels like there SHOULD be an explanation or a problem if it’s taking this long. Surely the odds can’t be that against them since it takes one or two tries for some people. I struggle to understand unexplained fertility.

I know people who are incredibly fit and healthy and take their supplements and eat well…and are at good age. They’ve been trying for quite some time.

and there are those who are quite the opposite and it happens straightaway. It’s incredibly disheartening.

I wish it wouldn’t be this difficult for some.

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumbrava · 01/02/2023 22:18

Anonbaby · 31/01/2023 21:45

@Mumbrava no worries at all! A different story TTC my third though. We’ve been going two years now and nothing! Our latest SA was under the threshold across the board, yet we have two children and the previous SA was fine so from what I can see it’s a constantly moving picture

oh I really hope it happens for the third time! Has your husband been making any lifestyle changes or taking any supplements? I heard proxeed makes quite the difference.

OP posts:
pippabg · 01/02/2023 22:57

I'd try not to worry if you've already had a child together and recently conceived, though I'm so sorry to hear about the missed miscarriage. That must have been awful.

I'm currently 21 weeks pregnant with my first. It took us 14 months and that was very hard. I also found it unfair that some people conceived so quickly! Husband had borderline low sperm count and very low morphology. But out of all the sperm markers it is the least reliable. Its quite a subjective analysis with a clinician deciding if a shape is "normal" or not. A different lab might give different results. Husband had 3 tests in like 4 months, and it went 2.5%, 1% and 0%. It got lower despite all changes in diet, exercise and vitamins! They say its least important out of the three, so the fact that your partner has an incredibly high count and motility is a good sign. Unfortunately, I think its just a matter of time, as frustrating as that might be. 20% chance of a healthy couple conceiving each month.

I also don't want to be rude (I'm 33, so we are close in age), but egg quality (which you can't measure in a test) does decline with age, which could explain why it was easier to conceive your first child. Although I have regular periods, it looked like some months I just didn't release an egg or it wasn't mature enough. I found that hard, but feel very blessed to be pregnant now!

Anonbaby · 01/02/2023 23:19

@Mumbrava thanks! Yes he’s been on proxeed since Nov and lifestyle changes such as loose boxers, no hot baths, no alcohol or caffeine, healthy diet etc but I’m still not pregnant so either it hasn’t improved things or that’s not really the underlying issue. He had a good lifestyle before anyway so can’t imagine it making much difference xx

Anonbaby · 01/02/2023 23:22

@Mumbrava I should also add that it did take 8 months to conceive our second which is why we had the SA done back then so maybe the sperm on the lower end of the scale contributed to that (first baby took one month but I was 29 then). I wonder now if my egg quality has declined too and can’t compensate for any slight male factor. Who knows but it’s not happening!

Original poster
Mumbrava · 02/02/2023 00:13

pippabg · 01/02/2023 22:57

I'd try not to worry if you've already had a child together and recently conceived, though I'm so sorry to hear about the missed miscarriage. That must have been awful.

I'm currently 21 weeks pregnant with my first. It took us 14 months and that was very hard. I also found it unfair that some people conceived so quickly! Husband had borderline low sperm count and very low morphology. But out of all the sperm markers it is the least reliable. Its quite a subjective analysis with a clinician deciding if a shape is "normal" or not. A different lab might give different results. Husband had 3 tests in like 4 months, and it went 2.5%, 1% and 0%. It got lower despite all changes in diet, exercise and vitamins! They say its least important out of the three, so the fact that your partner has an incredibly high count and motility is a good sign. Unfortunately, I think its just a matter of time, as frustrating as that might be. 20% chance of a healthy couple conceiving each month.

I also don't want to be rude (I'm 33, so we are close in age), but egg quality (which you can't measure in a test) does decline with age, which could explain why it was easier to conceive your first child. Although I have regular periods, it looked like some months I just didn't release an egg or it wasn't mature enough. I found that hard, but feel very blessed to be pregnant now!

Thanks so much for your reply and advice. And congratulations on your pregnancy! You must be overjoyed!

You mentioned that some months you may have not been releasing an egg or the egg may not have been mature…what made you assume this? I’ve done most tests from my side…as well as an ultra scan to see my ovaries and lining and all seemed pretty clear from my end. It would be helpful to know if there is anything else I can do to increase our chances.

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumbrava · 02/02/2023 00:16

Anonbaby · 01/02/2023 23:19

@Mumbrava thanks! Yes he’s been on proxeed since Nov and lifestyle changes such as loose boxers, no hot baths, no alcohol or caffeine, healthy diet etc but I’m still not pregnant so either it hasn’t improved things or that’s not really the underlying issue. He had a good lifestyle before anyway so can’t imagine it making much difference xx

ah I hope you get a positive soon! But in any case, I’m sure you must feel very blessed to have two kids already. I feel slightly pressured and guilty for not starting earlier and giving my son a sibling. Mum guilt has hit hard since my miscarriage.

you mentioned you had your first at 29 and now you are older. Do you mind saying your age? I’ve been told at 34 my chances of conceiving are drastically low and it’s only added to my list of worries.

OP posts:
Anonbaby · 02/02/2023 07:11

@Mumbrava yes, I was 29 then 31 then 34 when we tried this time around and now I’m 36. Various consultants have reassured me that this has nothing to do with age so I wouldn’t be worried about that. Very blessed to have two but nothing takes away the pain of not being able to complete your family xx

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