Incredibly, but the fact: sooner or later almost every man thinks about the continuation of the family. And some men dream of children even more than their wives. But when it comes to preparing for conceiving, future dads often believe that they have nothing to do during this period. And they are mistaken. Men along with women contribute to the genetics of the child and are responsible for the health of their future son or daughter.
In addition to genetics, there is another important aspect of preparation for family replenishment. From the man in many respects the probability of conception depends. As statistics show, in about half of cases pregnancy does not occur because of low fertility of a man. In turn, the main indicator of fertility is the quality of sperm, which is determined by such parameters as the number of spermatozoa, their mobility, structure (morphology) and viability.
To understand why such an important role is played by these characteristics, let us recall how conception occurs.
Spermatozoa enter the uterine cavity 30-60 minutes after ejaculation, and after 1.5-2 hours they enter the ampulla of the uterine tube. The egg is found here on average 24 hours after ovulation. Then the egg either fertilizes or dies. When spermatozoa "find" an egg, they attach to its shell, but penetrate into the egg cell, as a rule, only one spermatozoon is possible. For the rest, the shell becomes impenetrable. After the spermatozoon penetrated the egg, its nucleus merges with the core of the egg, and the father's chromosomes form a single set with the mother chromosomes. About a day after this, the resulting cell begins to divide - the first stage of fetal formation begins.
In theory, everything is simple. But the reality is much more complicated. The spermatozoon has very small dimensions (it is 8 times smaller than the pixel). To "get" to the egg, the sperm needs to overcome a short distance, which is more than 3636 times. If a man had to go that route, he would have to walk from Moscow to Voronezh. Do you think many would cope with this task? That is why it is so important that the spermatozoa are mobile and have the right structure. And the more such sperm in the semen, the higher the chance that at least one of them can reach the goal.
Let's talk more about each indicator.
Indicators of male fertility
As we have already found out, in order to meet with the ovum, spermatozoa must move rectilinearly and in one direction. Spermatozoons are considered inactive if their seminal threads have circular or oscillatory movements in one place (manezhnye or pendulum) - in this case the spermatozoon can not reach the ovum. Normal semen is considered, in which at least 40% of the spermatozoa are actively mobile.
The correct structure determines not only the ability to move, but also the ability to impregnate an egg. The spermatozoon is considered morphologically correct if its head has a smooth oval contour with a well-defined acrosome. An acrosome is a membrane vial with enzymes that dissolve the egg shell to penetrate the spermatozoon into it. The acrosome should normally occupy 40-70% of the head. The spermatozoon should not have defects of the head, neck, middle part and tail.
The concentration of spermatozoa in the ejaculate is very important. The conditions under which 39 million healthy spermatozoa or more fall on one milliliter of sperm are considered fertile for conception. For fertilization to be successful, at least 10 million spermatozoa must enter the uterus.
How to assess male fertility?
The surest way is to do an ejaculate analysis, a spermogram. Deciphering spermogrammy will allow to estimate quality of semen, to reveal problems which can interfere with conception, and to eliminate them.
In accordance with WHO standards, a good spermogram should meet the following criteria:
- Volume of ejaculate: 1.5 ml or more.
- The total number of spermatozoa in the ejaculate: 39 million or more.
- The concentration of spermatozoa in 1 ml: 15 million or more.
- Total mobility of spermatozoa: 40% or more.
- Sperm with progressive movement: 32% or more.
- Viability of spermatozoa: viable 58% or more.
- Morphology: normal forms 4% or more.
How to take spermogram?
Before putting the semen on analysis, it is necessary to abstain from sexual activity for at least 3-4 days, but not more than a week. You can not drink alcohol (including beer), medicines, visit the sauna, take a hot bath. The optimum temperature so that sperm does not die, 20-37 ° C, cooling the sperm below 20 ° C leads to a distortion of the indices. Therefore, it is better to take the analysis in the same room where the laboratory is located. It is important that all the ejaculated sperm that has been ejected into the laboratory glassware fall into place. The loss of at least one portion may distort the result of the study.
If the spermogram index is high, one analysis may be sufficient. But if you identify pathologies in the ejaculate, you will need a two- or three-fold analysis with an interval of 7 days.
Do I have to take a spermogram?Not all men agree to go for the spermogram delivery at the stage of pregnancy planning. Well, this behavior is understandable and can be dictated by a number of valid reasons. However, in any case, a man should think about how to improve the quality of sperm and increase the mobility of spermatozoa. The fact is that over the past half century, the quality of sperm in men has significantly decreased. This is due to the fact that concentration, morphology and, most importantly, motility of spermatozoa are very sensitive to the influence of external factors: deterioration of ecological conditions, alcohol consumption and some medications, smoking, malnutrition, etc.
Increase the motility of spermatozoa and the quality of sperm will help specialized vitamin preparations. It is important to understand that since the maturation of spermatozoa lasts 72 days, the man should be given at least 3 months to plan pregnancy. Vitamins for men during this period should be taken daily. "Men's vitamins" should contain zinc, vitamin E and L-carnitine in higher dosages. All these components are part of the drug "Spematon". "Spematon" stimulates spermatogenesis and improves sperm quality due to the fact that:
- L-carnitine increases the number of spermatozoa, improves their mobility, helps reduce the number of morphologically irregular sperm cells.
- Zinc is important for the synthesis of the hormone testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which are necessary for sperm production.
- Vitamin E increases the mobility and concentration of spermatozoa, increases their viability.
And of course, it must be remembered that conception planning involves not only vitamins for men, but also a healthy lifestyle, at least a temporary refusal from alcohol and smoking, proper nutrition and a good mood. Yes, stress, too, worsen the condition of the male body and affect the quality of sperm.
Three months of careful attention to your body and the observance of simple rules is what every man can do for the health of his unborn child even before his birth.