Couples have difficulty conceiving for many reasons, including low sperm count. Fortunately, in vitro fertilization (IVF) helps men whose test results show their sperm count is below the normal range. Here's how treatment at an infertility clinic can aid couples achieve pregnancy.

How In Vitro Fertilization Works for Men With Low Sperm Counts

What a Low Sperm Count Means

A low sperm count means you have less than 39 million sperm total per ejaculate or fewer than 15 million sperm per milliliter. Sperm densities ranging from 15 million to more than 200 million sperm per milliliter of semen are considered normal. Your sperm count fluctuates daily and is affected by conditions and changes in the body, including smoking, obesity, illness, and medication. As your sperm count decreases, your chances of getting your partner pregnant decrease.

Treatment Options for Low Sperm Counts

Treatment options vary depending on the cause of the low sperm count. Lifestyle changes such as weight loss or smoking cessation may be enough to increase your count, especially if you are under the age of 35 with no other fertility challenges. Surgery can unblock an obstructed vas deferens or correct a varicocele, enlarged veins in the testicles that reduce sperm count.

IVF’s Role 

With assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments, infertility specialists can obtain your sperm by extracting it surgically or through normal ejaculation. A fertility doctor then inserts it into your female partner’s genital tract or uses it for IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection. When the procedure is successful, your partner conceives and gives birth nine months later.

If you have a low sperm count and want to work with an experienced infertility clinic to conceive a child, infertility specialists at Pacific In Vitro Fertilization Institute in Honolulu, HI, are ready to help. This team of skilled and compassionate professionals includes four board-certified physicians with years of IVF experience. They opened the first in vitro clinic on the island of Hawaii in 1985, and they’ve brought more than 4,900 children into the world since then. Call (808) 946-2229 to arrange a confidential appointment or visit their website to learn more about their infertility clinic and treatment options.