Can Asthenospermia Affect IVF?
Date:2022-11-04 click:0
Male sperm is essential for the conception of an embryo. In general, a patient with average sperm concentration but less than 32% of forward-moving sperm within 1 hour of ejaculation is called asthenospermia. Usually, asthenospermia does not present symptoms and is mostly detected during a semen analysis. If a man is unfortunately diagnosed with asthenospermia, will it affect his ability to undergo in vitro fertilization? This question cannot be generalized but depends on the severity of the disease.
IVF, also known as in vitro fertilization or embryo transfer, is a modern assisted reproductive technology that is an increasingly sophisticated medical tool to help infertile men and women have children. In men with asthenospermia, a doctor removes sperm from the infertile man's body and allows the sperm to be fertilized with the woman's egg and then cultured into an early embryo that is then transferred to the woman's uterus.
Asthenospermia can have a significant impact on the fertility rate of sperm. Normally, the more sperm there is, the higher the chance of conception. Conversely, if there is few sperm, the chances of conceiving an egg are greatly reduced.
There are many factors in life that may affect sperm production and quality. For example, some congenital factors, such as abnormal testicular development and cryptorchidism may affect sperm vitality. In addition, sperm quality can also be affected by acquired abnormalities of the genitourinary system, such as testicular torsion, trauma, tumor, and inflammation, which can all lead to testicle atrophy and result in abnormal semen.
Except for the above two reasons, genitourinary tract infection is the third reason. For example, when epididymitis, prostatitis, seminal vesiculitis, and other infectious diseases occur, excess leukocyte products such as reactive oxygen species can directly damage sperm membranes and harm sperm viability.
Men with asthenospermia do not necessarily need IVF. If it is only mild asthenospermia, the patients can get conceived naturally after proper medication. Alternatively, men can change the quality of their semen by changing their previous bad habits affecting sperm production. For example, they can exercise adequately and avoid staying up late, smoking, or drinking alcohol. Besides, they can eat more sperm-producing foods and avoid drinking strong coffee and cola. These practices can improve the survival rate of sperm and increase the chances of conception.
If it is severe asthenospermia, an IVF may be required. Or if the forward-moving sperm is less than 10 million, an IVF can also be tried. If there is a combination of severe oligospermia and teratozoospermia, men do not need to consider Intra-uterine Insemination (IUI), and IVF can be done directly. Generally speaking, if men have been infertile for a long time and other causes are excluded, they can undergo artificial insemination to achieve the goal of conception.
In addition, If asthenospermia is caused by inflammation of the genital tract or glands, such as prostatitis, epididymitis, etc. men can take the traditional Chinese medicine Diuretic and Anti-inflammatory Pill, which will work on the entire urinary and reproductive system at the same time. It can help eliminate inflammation and treat male infertility disorders with reasonable effectiveness.
Most men with asthenospermia can improve their sperm quality, and some can achieve fertility if they are treated promptly. However, poor treatment results can likely lead to infertility. In this case, men need to undergo assisted reproduction to achieve fertility.
Doing IVF is an option for men with asthenospermia, but it does not mean that men cannot do IVF if they have asthenospermia. Most men can achieve a natural pregnancy by finding the cause of asthenospermia and treating the symptoms timely and adequately. Men with severe cases of asthenospermia can be treated with medication or surgery as the doctor recommends.
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