Understanding the male reproductive cell: Sperm

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We live in a great grand digital world where information is dispensable at a click. But a lot of times, the whirlpool of information leaves us confused especially with respect to a rather ‘conventionally’ secretive topics one like ‘understanding sperm, the male reproductive cell’ in-depth. Here is a list of all things you must know especially if considering to have a child with your partner.

What is Sperm?

Sperm is a male reproductive cell. It is a vessel which carries a man’s DNA to combine with a woman’s egg that makes for an embryo that eventually grows in a foetus.

Sperm production and its longevity

Sperms develop in testicles within a system of tiny tubes called seminiferous tubules. It takes around three months for it to go from a stem cell to a mature sperm in a testicle. A healthy man produces over 1000 sperms per second. Outside a male’s body, a sperm can survive about two days while it can survive around 72 hours in a woman’s reproductive tract.

Increasing sperm count and quality

Sperm count can be increased by staying physically healthy, maintaining proper weight and consuming a diet which contains nutrients like Vitamin C and B-12.

What causes a decrease in sperm count and quality?

Habits like smoking cigarettes, alcoholism, obesity, unhealthy lifestyle can lead to a lower sperm count and low fertility among men.

How long can sperm be banked and possible to use?

Sperms which are stored can be used even after years. No studies have found any issues regarding using sperms as old as 20 years.

Sperms in Pregnancy

Although a man produces thousands of sperm per second and releases 100 million sperms when he ejaculates, it takes just one sperm to fertilise a woman’s egg and make her pregnant. High sperm fertility and mobility are required for a man to get a female pregnant. This is because out of the total sperm released during ejaculation only a few survive the journey from the vagina to the fallopian tubes and just one that actually fuses with the female egg to form an embryo in the placenta.

Myths about Sperm

Thicker Sperm is more fertile
Sperms live only for a short duration
Sperms stay fertile and healthy for man’s entire life
Every sperm is healthy and viable
More sperm is better while trying to get pregnant

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Fertility is the natural ability one possesses to conceive a child. Around 10%-15% of married couples in India face the problem of fertility. Even minor stressors can adversely affect your fertility and prevent you from getting pregnant. But, thankfully there are some easy ways to boost your fertility and become pregnant faster. Here, we present some of those methods through which you could boost your fertility.

Watch your Health: You should monitor your health by going to regular checkups. A doctor would be able to give you the best advice to stay fit. Good diet, regular exercise, healthy body weight, proper sleep and less stress goes a long way in maintaining a high level of fertility.

Know the process: All the pregnancies start when the egg meets sperm. The process where ovaries release an egg is called ovulation. You need to keep a track of the ovulation process and have sex during that time as it increases the chance of pregnancy.

Monitor the Testicle Temperature: Testicles are usually a few degrees cooler than the rest of the body because that is a better temperature for sperm production. So, it becomes necessary to keep a tab on the testicle temperature to boost your fertility.

Keep a tab on your medications: Before you try to conceive a baby, make sure that any medications you consume does not affect your fertility.

Maintain a balanced diet: A good diet increases your fertility and boosts the chances of conceiving. Include enough amount of iron, protein, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin D in your diet as deficiencies in these nutrients leads to the risk of miscarriage.

Lookout for your weight: Being obese surely poses risk to your body. Besides that, excess body weight can lead to overproduction of certain hormones and disrupt ovulation. This means lesser ovulation lessens the chances of pregnancy.

Avoid Alcohol: Various studies conducted by well- known researchers have shown a decreased ability to conceive with the consumption of alcohol. Besides, alcohol also adversely affects the fetus.

No Smoking: Cigarettes damage a woman’s eggs and interfere with the fertilisation and implantation process. Besides, it also causes the ovaries to age. This means that the ovaries of a 35 year old functions like the ovaries of 42 year old, meaning less fertility.