Low morphology - should we continue?

[Confused865]

I posted yesterday but I know a bit more today, and so hope it's okay to start a new thread which is a bit more focused.

My husbands sperm results have come back and it looks like he has low morphology (1.4 normal forms and 98.6 abnormal forms)

Until we have our fertility clinic appointment - what I'm most concerned about is whether we should keep trying? If his sperm is not forming properly, is there a chance that the baby will have chromosomal issues? I can't seem to find clear guidance online.

We had a miscarriage last year, so I'd rather pause trying to conceive if we could have a high risk of challenges. Equally, I'm just about to ovulate so not sure what to do!

I'd really appreciate any guidance you can offer from personal experience.

Thank you 💓

Hey, OP. It only takes one good sperm to reach the egg, so even if his numbers aren't very good, it's still worth it to keep trying, that's just my opinion. It's been 18 months for me trying and we're going to continue to try at least so we don't have any regrets or what-ifs.

Most embryos a couple produces are chromosomaly abnormal anyway, so if the embryo doesn't have the best genetics, it will likely stop growing and then your body will reject it. Morphology means the shape and form of the sperm, bad morphology would be sperm that doesn't present normally, ie two heads instead of one, a broken/malformed tail or something like immature sperm which is a sperm not fully-formed and has just a head with no tail. It's two-headed sperm that delivers two lots of DNA, ie one extra chromosome, which leads to Down's Syndrome.

TL;DR Embryos that humans make are mostly duff and I'd continue to carry on trying anyway so there are no regrets/what-ifs. Though, ultimately, it's up to you and your hubby.

If it helps at all, in a 'normal' sperm sample, approximately 4-10% of sperm have normal morphology, so even a very fertile man will still have 90-96% of his sperm be abnormal morphology. If chromosonal abnormalities were caused by abnormal sperm morphology, genetic conditions would be a lot more common. All this to say, I don't see a problem with you continuing to try.

I think the main problem with abnormal sperm is not the risk of conditions your child could inherit, it's that weird shaped sperm physically can't get to/fertilise the egg. The less normal sperm you have, the less chance you have of fertilisation in the first place. I think it is unlikely that your DH's sperm morphology was inherintly the cause of your previous miscarriage, and if anything it is encouraging that you were able to conceive - sorry, having been through infertility myself I mean this in a '1.4% isn't as high as you might like but it's good enough to be worth trying' way. Nothing infuriated me more after over a year of trying, followed by an early loss to be told 'at least you know you can get pregnant' but there is a kernal of truth in it.

Please don't be disheartened, and if you do decide to keep trying best of luck!

@Confused865 in short no, keep trying! We had 0% morphology improved to 9% with some lifestyle changes and supplements like Proxeed. We conceived after 15 months with also borderline sperm count and I'm breastfeeding my beautiful daughter at the moment. As OP said, 4% is deemed fine these days, so if he also had a good sperm count, it may just be taking a bit of time! Good luck!

Hello, I think the best guidance is the medical one if you have medical questions !

@SarahShorty@LavenderSweetPea@FlyOnTheWall89

Thank you - so much. I understand it better - and that it might not be the end of the road (or dangerous to keep trying).

This stuff can be a lot to process when you don’t have any information, so I really appreciate your honest shares and advice, and for taking the time out to help me figure this out.

We are going to make some lifestyle changes and keep going until the fertility clinic appointment.

@FlyOnTheWall89 - it really helps to hear some positive outcomes, it gives you hope - so thank you!

@LavenderSweetPea - I know exactly what you mean. It’s something I’ve heard a lot over the last year. I know it’s well-meaning but when I thought the results meant his sperm = birth defects I thought we were on the road to more heartbreak. I’m glad I have a bit more understanding of it now. And, the context in which you’ve shared the kernel of truth, is right - and appreciated. Thank you.

@SarahShorty - I’m wishing you all the luck in the world, on this rollercoaster of a journey! Keep going, and I’m v grateful for you sharing your story.

@Internette I hadn’t thought of seeking medical advice, thank you 🙄

A good friend of mine has had 6 mcs and 2 live births. 1 of the dc had downs syndrome and other complications and sadly died at a few weeks old. She lived in a European country where they told her that she had a clotting disorder and said that was the cause of the mcs, and that her ds' chromosomal issues were just 'one of those things'. Since coming to the UK she had tests which revealed that she doesn't have any clotting issues and that her husband's sperm morphology is very poor, which has been the reason for her mcs and the down syndrome. They advised her not to TTC until he has treatment, but not sure what that entails.

Don’t me wrong ! I myself am a physician (pediatrician) and I even i am totally ok with parents looking for other shared personnal experiences online, I consider the physician who is aware of your medical record the best person to answer your questions :)
The TCC is hard for many of us here so let’s show lovingkindness

Definitely keep trying. The issue is that it's more difficult for misshapen sperm to penetrate the egg. There isn't medically conclusive evidence that low morphology is linked to abnormalities when conception occurs. It is also not thought to be linked to miscarriages. Sperm DNA fragmentation can be linked to miscarriages but that would need a separate test.

What was the sperm count and motility like?

@feralunderclass I'm so sorry to hear about your friends experience. I really hope they have some positive news soon 💓

@AlexandraPaige thank you - that's really reassuring to hear. Sperm count was high but motility could be better by the sounds of it (progressive motility 32.9%, non progressive 4.2% and immotile 62.7%)

Hopefully the fertility clinic appointment will come through soon. And in the meantime, we are continuing to TTC as my take-away at this point is that perhaps the birth defects link that I was worried about might not be the case.

@Confused865 good luck! Xx

We have low morphology too - between 2-3% every time we test but have a good count and good motility (usually 70%) so our doctor has told us to go ahead and keep trying while also taking supplements to improve sperm quality. I’ve had one natural pregnancy and baby 6 years ago. Right now we have been trying for 2 years with no luck but there are many other factors at play like our age, stress, really busy work schedules etc.

@bstrong0805 it's reassuring to hear we're not alone - but I'm really sorry to hear you're grappling with this too.

Have you been referred to the infertility clinic? (I wish they would call it fertility clinic - makes you feel a bit more hopeful!)

Hi, there are so many factors in reduced fertility this won't necessarily impact things; however, it makes sense to improve his scores. There's a lot that can be done for poor sperm health and morphology is often raised when the immune system is dysregulated. Poor gut health, food reactions, stress, and damage to sperm from radiation are a few examples of things that increase sperm damage.

There's only so much that can be done generically but a great place to start would be eating plenty of fruits and veggies which all produce sperm protective nutrients, enough eggs/meat/fish for sperm-building nutrients. Supplement-wise wise Biocare's Male Multinutrient with extra selenium (Nutrisorb Selenium) and Biocare's Curcumin Complex would be a great all-rounder for protecting and building healthy sperm. I have no connections with Biocare but I'm a fertility nutritionist and only recommed supplements I know and use and have great results with. All the best to you and I hope you have happy news soon x

In case anyone ever picks up on this thread and face the same news I wanted to share an update.

A week after this news, we fell pregnant! And our daughter is here safe and well, and is now four months old.

A huge thank you for taking the time to share your advice. And for anyone else facing the same, I hope you have your happy news too. It doesn’t mean you can’t!

What lovely news, congrats!

Thank you @Velvetpine 😊

@Confused865 amazing news. It's so funny how these things work. I'm 8.5 months pregnant with baby no.2. No clue if / why / how my OH sperm count could be so much better this time round? We didn't really try and I was still breastfeeding baby no.1. I was fully expecting it to take ages again.

Yes keep trying, morphology is the least understood of all sperm parameters.

there are peer reviewed studies that showed a huge majority of men with 0% sperm will conceive in 2 years. These men also had lower overall metrics compared to the control group.

proxeed plus, clinically proven to improve sperm parameters. It’s pricey but works :)

posted before I read OPs update!

congrats OP :) I’m glad you kept trying :)

@FlyOnTheWall89 - a huge congratulations to you! Little did we know, hey?

@Dreamingofthree - thank you so much. I'm glad we kept trying too.

I remember when we had the news the Nurse or GP wouldn't offer any advice and said the only thing we can do is wait for a fertility appointment. Hence why I came onto Mumsnet to see if anyone else had experienced similar. I was due to ovulate the following week and didn't know if it was dangerous to keep trying.

Thanks to this thread - we kept trying that month and that's the month we conceived. It's crazy to think had it not been for Mumsnet our little miracle wouldn't be here! 😱

I just wanted to say a massive thank you for the update to your post. My husband’s morphology has just come back low (at 2% instead of the required 4%) and we’ve had/got all the same questions you were asking!
I could have cried when I read your update about your healthy baby girl, I’m so happy for you and this gives us hope xxx

I’m so sorry you had the same news/worry to contend with.

Keep the faith! Even if it feels like it’s never going to happen. It can, and I hope it will, very soon for you ♥️

Ps - it’s the original poster here - not sure how I have two usernames 😊