Advice I Gathered on Sperm Optimization for Surrogacy

Being from Pittsburgh and having many friends in the medical field has it's benefits.  Due to my APS and re-occurent miscarriages I sort of became a regular within the Maternal Fetal Medicine department at Magee Women Hospital.  Some of the most skilled doctors in world have taken the time to explain the in's and out's of pregnancy, infertility and blood diseases for me.  I was chatting with my doctor the other day regarding my surrogacy experience as well as male infertility and was surprised by some of the evidence and advice he shared with me.  

Men can improve the health of their sperm and future baby in just three months.  It takes 80-90 days for an immature sperm cell to grow into a mature sperm, men have the opportunity to positively impact the quality of their sperm by improving their health during the three months before fertility treatment.  (So…if you and your partner are considering surrogacy this is great prep work for you).  Men can optimize their health and the health of their sperm through improved nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress management.  You should have regular visits to your primary care physician as well in order to identify and treat other health issues including: hypertension, obesity, and diabetes.

Synthetic testosterone actually decreases sperm count.  Synthetic testosterone, which can be found in supplements, tricks a man’s body into thinking that it has produced enough testosterone and therefore it slows down sperm production.  During fertility treatment men should avoid all supplements and never have a testosterone injection or use testosterone creams or gels before and IVF or IUI cycle.  (This actually comes from personal experience.  The doctor may need you to give 2-3 samples of sperm if it is not adequate). 

Sleep could be the secret to improving everything from eating habits to endocrine health.  While you are sleeping, your body is busy recovering from the day’s physical and emotional wear and tear.  Sleep is also imperative in regulating hormones, including testosterone and other factors for sperm production.  Sleep is vital to improving your health.  Sleep deprivation, which is typically less than six or seven hours of sleep, can lead to:

*       Increases Weight Gain

*       Increases Stress

*       Increases Hunger

*       Increases Cortisol

*       Increases Abdominal Fat

*       Decreases Muscle Mass

*       Decreases Testosterone

*       Decreases Fertility

Smoking today can affect your children tomorrow…I have written about this in previous articles.  Quitting smoking may be the single greatest change that a patient – male or female – can make for his/her own health and potentially for the health of his/her unborn child.  Most people are aware that smoking has far-reaching consequences.  Smoking tobacco or any other product has a dramatic negative effect on sperm count, quality, motility, and most importantly the genes incorporated in the sperm.  There is a great deal of literature available on the dangers of smoking when it comes to issues of reproduction.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53022/

It is important that both partners support each other in quitting smoking.  This single change will not only improve their fertility, but will also improve their overall health and the health of an unborn child.

Caffeine can rob you of energy.  In order to ensure that caffeine does not diminish sleep quality or quantity, avoid caffeine after lunch.

Male and female fertility patients should limit their caffeine intake throughout the day.  The doctor that Care Surrogacy Mexico works with actually advised me of this before I began the egg stimulation process.  Male patients should consume no more than 300 mg per day, and ideally that is more like 150 mg. 

Sources:

http://www.upmc.com/pages/default.aspx

Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology-Pittsburgh