Posts Tagged ‘sperm’

How long to abstain before an IUI?

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Traditionally a two day period of abstinence has been recommended prior to ovulation or an IUI. A recent study in the March 2010 issue of Fertility & Sterility suggests that shorter period of absintence results in better pregnancy rates. In this study an ejaculatory abstinence period of less than 2 days before IUI produced the highest pregnancy rates per cycle compared with longer intervals of ejaculatory abstinence. This higher conception rate occurred despite a lower total number of motile spermatozoa inseminated.

This may be explained by the observation that shorter periods of abstinence can result is less fragmentation in the DNA of the sperm. This is another demonstration of the fact the quality can be more important than quantity. It's important that those trying to conceive consult their doctors to determine the best period of abstinence in their case.

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Your sperm are what you eat

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

There's more evidence that a man's diet can not only affect his potency, but the quality of his sperm as well. In a study reported in Science Daily a  little-known omega-3 may have implications for treating male infertility. In a study done in mice that lacked the gene responsible for an enzyme important in making the omega-3, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), male mice are basically infertile, But, when DHA was introduced into the diet, fertility was completely restored.

This is the first time that the importance of DHA to male fertility has been shown this directly, although some studies have suggested that male fertility patients with low sperm counts and less motile sperm tend to have low levels of this fatty acid.

The message here that may apply to humans is to make sure your intake of Omega-3 fatty acids is adequate. For more information and references see the Lifestyle and Fertility pages on our website.

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Diet matters in making sperm

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

We have all had the experience of being told that we need to eat a good, balanced diet. Turns out that's true, at least in order to produce normal sperm.

A study in the March 2010 issue of Fertility & Sterility examined the diets of 30 men with poor semen quality and 31 normospermic control subjects of couples attending a fertility clinic. They recorded dietary habits and nutrient consumption using a food frequency questionnaire. They found that control subjects had a significantly higher intake of carbohydrates, fiber, folate, vitamin C, and lycopene and lower intakes of proteins and total fat. Based on that they concluded that a low intake of antioxidant nutrients was associated with a poor semen quality.

RPMG's Dr. David Meldrum has a lot of information on the role of diet in male reproductive health on his website, Life Choices and Fertility.

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Psychological stress may affect sperm parameters

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

One of the most frequent questions I am asked by both men and women is whether stress may be affecting their fertility. There is a lot of evidence that stress can adversly affect a woman's fertility.There are studies showing that interventions with acupuncture and Mind-Body programs can have a positive influence on the chance of IVF success.

Now a multi-center study in the March 2010 issue of the journal Fertility & Sterility shows that more than two recent stressful life events decreased sperm parameters. In order to decrease the affect of variables that they may have found in infertile men, they examined the sperm of 744 fertile males. They found that men reporting more than two recent stressful life events had an increased risk of being classified below standard thresholds for “normal” defined by concentration, motility and morphology criteria, compared with men reporting less than two stressful life events.

The authors conclude that stressful life events may be associated with decreased semen quality in fertile men. Based on these findings the experience of psychosocial stress may be a modifiable factor in the development of male infertility.

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