Oligospermia, Oligozoospermia is a male fertility-related medical term with low sperm count. It is one of the primary causes of male infertility. Due to the low sperm count, the chances for the sperm to travel through the entire female reproductive tract and reach the fallopian tubes are lower. But men with a low sperm count still produce sperm. However, for natural pregnancy, sperm count is not the single determining factor; sperm motility and sperm morphology must also be considered. Lack of sperm motility means it won’t be able to reach the egg. The sperm could be abnormally shaped, which means an abnormal morphology. With either of these two factors, the sperm cannot penetrate the egg. Men with Oligospermia should maintain a healthy lifestyle which can help maintain fertility. It might work if men with Oligospermia try for natural pregnancy, although fertilization may be difficult and takes longer. They have to wait longer than fertile couples.
Effect of Sperm’s Characteristics on Fertility
When the sperm that is active and stronger swims faster, then it can fertilize an egg. Hence, the fittest sperm is needed for fertilisation. Even if a weak sperm fertilizes an egg, the offspring might have some chromosomal abnormality or early miscarriage. A healthy male with normal sperm count ejaculates; he releases nearly 100 million sperm. There is an egg waiting in the fallopian tubes, and during that time, if the fittest sperm can meet the egg, then fertilisation occurs. Many sperm travels from the vagina towards the fallopian tube, and only a few sperm can survive this tough journey.
For natural pregnancy to occur, a minimum count of 15 million and more sperm per ml of semen is considered fine. Additionally, the sperm shape and motility should be fine too.
As per statistics, men with 1 or 2 million sperm counts per millilitre of semen may see the best results by opting for assisted reproductive technology to impregnate a female. They may be candidates for ICSI-IVF.
How can a couple achieve pregnancy with different Types of Oligospermia?
Men with low sperm count can achieve a natural pregnancy with their partner if the partner has good fertility since low sperm count and pregnancy are different. Depending on the severity of the case, pregnancy options are listed below:
Normozoospermia: The couple can achieve natural pregnancy if the female partner has no fertility issues.
Mild to moderate Oligospermia: The couple can attempt natural pregnancy, but it may take longer. The couple can try conventional IVF or IUI.
Severe oligospermia / Cryptozoospermia: The couple can opt for ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) with IVF. Only a single morphologically perfect sperm is required for fertilisation.
Azoospermia: The fertility experts will extract sperm directly from the testes via microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration. ICSI is performed.
At any point, the couple can opt for donor sperm.
Do’s to get pregnant naturally fast with Oligospermia:
Adapting a healthy lifestyle:
- Eat a well-balanced nutritious diet
- Maintain a suitable exercise regime and lose some weight if obese.
- Smoking is a strict no-no.
- The alcohol intake must be curtailed, and don’t go binge drinking in the name of social drinking. Do not expose yourself to environmental toxins; since heat affects sperm production, avoid hot tubs and tight-fitting underwear.
Get treated for sexual disorders: Intercourse during the woman’s fertile window improves the chances of fertilisation. You can know the ovulation timing by maintaining a menstrual and ovulation dates calendar. If the male partner has any sexual disorders such as erectile dysfunction and retrograde ejaculation, please get medical treatment and counseling.
Surgical solutions:
- Treating a varicocelectomy (swollen varicoceles) improves the semen parameters in 60-70% of patients.
- Microsurgical vasovasostomy to undo a vasectomy,
- Vasoepididymostomy to treat epididymal blocks
- Transurethral resection of the ejaculatory duct, or TURED, to treat an ejaculatory duct blockage.
Assisted reproductive techniques (ART): If all the above are not working, one can try an ART procedure which best suits their needs.
Various ART options are:
IUI (intrauterine insemination) – For men with low sperm count IUI is a very good option. A semen sample is collected and thoroughly washed before injecting directly into the female partner’s uterus during her ovulation cycle. This cuts down the distance the sperm needs to travel is reduced.
IVF (in vitro fertilisation) and ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) can also be used.
Sperm Retrieval methods: Below are the sperm retrieval methods through which the sperm is collected for use in IUI, IVF or ICSI.
- Testicular Sperm Aspiration(TESA)
- Testicular sperm extraction (TESE)
- Percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA)
- Microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA)
- Microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (Micro TESE)
We at ZIVA Fertility Center handle all types of male infertility. We adopt a systematic approach to help a couple achieve their dream of a baby. We give accurate information about the cause of male infertility and also explain various treatment options. The best treatment varies for each couple so we take a personal interest in each of our patients. Please visit our website https://zivafertility.com/ or contact us at +91-9100002737, +91-9392834024, info@zivafertility.com
