If you and your partner have had trouble getting pregnant, it’s possible you have a low sperm count. This reduces the odds of one of your sperm fertilizing your partner’s egg. However, in many cases, low sperm count is the result of lifestyle factors you can control. If you start taking better care of your health, your sperm count may rise. If other factors are causing your low sperm count, infertility treatment options may be able to help.

Common Causes of Low Sperm Count

Obesity

Obesity can have many negative effects on your life, including your sperm count. If you’re carrying around too much weight, it can lower your testosterone levels, which drive sperm production. Getting down to a healthy weight through diet and exercise may help increase your sperm count.

Smoking

If you need yet another reason to quit smoking, it can raise your sperm count. Smokers have lower sperm concentration and motility. Additionally, smoking can reduce the effectiveness of infertility treatments. If you’re unable to quit smoking on your own, ask your doctor for advice.

Stress

While everyone gets stressed from time to time, excessive levels can negatively affect your fertility. High stress levels may hinder the hormones needed to produce sperm and reduce semen quality. If you’ve been feeling extra stressed lately, take preventative steps like exercising regularly, writing in a journal, spending time with loved ones, and reducing your workload. If you still can’t get your stress under control, consider talking to a therapist.

Infertility Treatment Options

If you and your partner are still having trouble conceiving, it may be time to consider infertility treatment options. One of the most common treatments is in vitro fertilization, which involves fertilizing an egg with your sperm in a lab. In some cases, intracytoplasmic sperm injection may be used as well. It injects a single healthy sperm directly into the egg to improve implantation success rates.

If you’re dealing with low sperm count, turn to the professionals at Pacific In Vitro Fertilization Institute in Honolulu, HI. Their fertility doctors have provided couples with infertility treatment options since 1985, including IVF and ICSI. To make an appointment, call (808) 946-2226, or visit their website for more information about their services.