{"id":8961,"date":"2019-08-28T15:37:41","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T14:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamap.accessfertility.com\/ie\/2019\/08\/28\/practical-tips-preserving-male-fertility\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T09:49:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T08:49:05","slug":"practical-tips-preserving-male-fertility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/ie\/practical-tips-preserving-male-fertility\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical tips for preserving male fertility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back to basics \u2013 how it all works<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Before we dive in to how men can help to preserve their sperm quality and quantity, we should first brush up on our knowledge and understanding of these little tadpole like cells and other interesting fertilisation related things.<\/p>\n

We all remember those awkward classes at school as a teenager learning about reproduction. Well what we maybe don\u2019t remember, or were perhaps never told, is that it is much more complicated than \u2018sperm meets egg\u2019 or \u2018having unprotected sex = baby\u2019. Those of us experiencing trouble conceiving or going through fertility treatment are acutely aware of this, but do you know why?<\/p>\n

Fascinating man facts<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The seminal fluid is not all sperm<\/strong><\/p>\n

A fluid\u00a0produced in the\u00a0seminal\u00a0vesicles mixes together with the sperm to create seminal fluid. This fluid provides an environment that’s very important for the proper functioning and survival of sperm.<\/p>\n

The main components of this fluid: give sperm energy; help neutralise the acidic nature of the male urethra and female vagina; form a gel-like protective layer around sperm; helps sperm move and provide hormones that help to lower the female immune response to semen.<\/p>\n

I certainly didn\u2019t know that sperm triggers an immune response in the female when it enters the uterus. The introduction of sperm creates an increase in white blood cells that attack the dying sperm. These cells though may also attack healthy sperm too.<\/p>\n

At this point I am visualising the sperm as armoured soldiers on a mission to find the princess locked in a tower, blindfolded, through a maze, past various sword and arrow wielding enemies, to then be met at their goal by a fire breathing dragon!<\/p>\n

The biological marathon<\/h4>\n

It really is a race and the purest test of survival of the fittest among our little \u2018soldiers\u2019. A man may ejaculate 40 million to 150 million\u00a0sperm, which start swimming upstream toward the fallopian tubes on their mission to\u00a0fertilise an egg. Fast-swimming\u00a0sperm can\u00a0reach\u00a0the\u00a0egg\u00a0in a half an hour, while others may\u00a0take\u00a0days. Sperm\u00a0can live up to 48-72 hours compared to the egg which can only survive for up to 24 hours.<\/p>\n

The female does try and help the little guys out. The fallopian tube pushes the egg towards the uterus while cilia push the sperm towards the egg. The egg and its surrounding cell layers also produce a chemical that is designed to attract the sperm.<\/p>\n

An egg could be surrounded by approximately 100,000 sperm until one manages to get through. That sounds a lot but given we started with millions it really is a tiny percentage that actually make it to the final round.<\/p>\n

To achieve fertilisation the sperm have to take on the fire breathing dragon and literally fight their way through the layers of protective armour surrounding the egg. They do this by first using enzymes contained in the tip of their head to dissolve and break through the first layer. They then need to break though the outer membrane of the egg by essentially fusing to and digesting this membrane using another enzyme. The sperm is always forcing its way forward by thrashing its tail.<\/p>\n

Should one sperm cell get this far and make contact with the egg membrane, it is enveloped and can then go about fertilisation: all other sperm cells reaching the egg are then repelled as the egg passes a chemical message across its surface making it impenetrable to other sperm.<\/p>\n

Not all sperm are the same<\/h4>\n

Again, at school we were told that sperm look like little tadpoles with a head and a tail. However, I was surprised to find that a large number of sperm are actually \u2018abnormal\u2019. Some have two heads or no heads, some have huge heads, some have small tails or no tails, others may be bent at right angles, or have spiral tails. Many of the unusual ones are probably not fertile.<\/p>\n

Healthy sperm that actually take the right route to the (correct) fallopian tube are rare. Many take the wrong channel and never get near to their goal.<\/p>\n

Of the 40 to 300 hundred million sperm produced by the male, only one gets to do its job. Even then this only happens around 25% of the time, which is why it can take months or years of trying to conceive even where there are no fertility issues.<\/p>\n

You can find out more about the causes of infertility on the NHS website here<\/a>. You can also find out about low sperm count here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How can I help my fertility?<\/h4>\n

I always get excited when I read things like this, hoping there is a pill or a magic drink I can take that will make it all better. However, this, like with all other things, is common sense and requires some effort on your part. Just like losing weight, or building muscle in the gym, there are no \u2018easy\u2019 quick fixes or pills you can take. You need to put in the work to ultimately be as healthy as possible.<\/p>\n

There are some men who have issues with infertility even though they do everything \u2018right\u2019. This sucks, but this isn\u2019t within your control. The key here is to make sure that you control what you can to ensure you are as healthy as possible to give yourself the best possible chance.<\/p>\n

If you are experiencing issues with infertility there is hope, but you need to speak to your GP or local fertility clinic for advice. We know men don\u2019t like talking to medical practitioners, and especially about something as sensitive as this, but please seek support if you\u2019re in this situation.<\/p>\n

Here are the best ways to support the production of healthy sperm:<\/h4>\n

Do\u2019s:<\/strong><\/p>\n