What is a normal sperm count?

What is sperm count?

This refers to the amount of sperm cells contained in a sperm sample. Sperm count is one factor that’s taken into account when male partners undergo fertility testing. Unless you’ve had difficulty trying to get pregnant you might never have thought or worried about your sperm count before, and that’s perfectly normal.

What is a low sperm count? 

A normal sperm count is considered to be anything above 15 million sperm cells per milliliter, anything below this number is considered to be a low sperm count. 

It’s important to say that all our bodies are different and sperm counts can vary significantly from person to person, and even may vary in the same individual over time, as the sperm life cycle is continuous. It takes about 70 days for new sperm to be made, but this is happening all the time.

What causes low sperm count?

There often isn’t an obvious cause for low sperm count - it can just happen, and it doesn’t mean your sperm count will always be low. Some causes of low sperm count include:

• Ejaculating multiple times a day for multiple days
• Hormonal imbalance 
• Genetic problems
• Having undescended testicles as a baby
• The tubes that carry sperm have been blocked by illness or injury
• Sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia or gonorrhea
• Infection of the prostate gland
• Enlarged veins on the testicles (varicocele)
• Previous surgery to the testicles
• Overheated testicles
• Excessive alcohol consumption and/or drug use
• Certain medications
• Being overweight or obese 

If you have questions or concerns about your sperm count or just want to know more, it’s a good idea to talk to your healthcare professional.

Signs of low sperm count

Unfortunately, there is no obvious way to tell if you have a low sperm count without testing. If you’ve been trying for a baby for a year or more without conceiving then it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor to rule out any fertility problems, such as low sperm count. Your doctor will be able to offer guidance on sperm testing options, and there are also at-home test kits available.

Remember that fertility problems can occur in both partners and it’s often a combination of factors that can make it difficult to get pregnant. For this reason it’s a good idea for both partners to be involved in this conversation.

What is sperm motility?

We’ve talked a lot about sperm count, but it’s important to note that there are other factors that can impact sperm quality too. Sperm motility refers to the sperm cell’s ability to move - and remember these swimmers need to make their way through the female reproductive tract in order to meet and fertilize the egg cell, so they need to be in good shape to make that journey!

Sperm motility can be a barrier in conceiving if you don’t have enough moving sperm to fertilize an egg cell. Guidance from the World Health Organization states that a healthy sperm sample should contain 40% of motile sperm or 32% with progressive motility (meaning they can swim forward).

According to the National Health Service, low sperm count and poor sperm quality are the cause of fertility problems in one in three couples trying to conceive. However, there are treatment options available, and having a low sperm count or less motile sperm does not mean you can’t start a family. 

What is sperm morphology?

This refers to the way sperm cells are formed. According to official guidance, you only need 4% of normally formed sperm cells to be considered to have healthy sperm morphology.

Motility and morphology testing is often carried out at the same time as measuring sperm count so you’ll be able to get the whole picture of what your sperm quality and quantity looks like by providing a semen sample.

Low sperm count treatment 

Once you have identified low sperm count or motility or morphology issues, you’ve got a few options. You can keep trying - remember there are millions of sperm in every ejaculation and it only takes one single sperm cell to fertilize an egg cell. However, there may come a time when you want to consider other fertility options so it’s good to know what’s available in terms of treatment. These options include:

IVF - In vitro fertilization is the process of fertilizing an egg cell with a sperm cell outside of the body. Once fertilized the egg is returned to the uterus where it will hopefully implant and grow and develop. 

Intracytoplasmic sperm infection - This is a type of IVF technique where a sperm cell is injected into the egg cell directly to fertilize it. This can be a good option for those with low sperm motility or a low sperm count.

Gonadotropin medicine - If you have low levels of the hormone that stimulates sperm production you can also take medication to increase your levels of this hormone and therefore, create more sperm cells.

Donor insemination - If you can’t, or don’t want to use your own sperm, you may also have the option of choosing to fertilize the egg cell with sperm from a donor. This can be done as part of the IVF process. 

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