Total motile sperm and IUI thresholds

Dr. Natalie Crawford answers voicemail questions about male fertility.

Questions included:

1. I have been trying to get pregnant for 18 months, had a miscarriage, and am seeing a fertility specialist. My husband's sperm motility is 36% and morphology is 2%. The clinic says the numbers are minimally low and we can still try medicated cycles and IUI. I want feedback on whether we should stop the medicated cycles and focus on improving my husband's sperm first.
2. I have two healthy children but have had two recent miscarriages. My husband's semen analysis shows normal count/volume but only 3% normal morphology. I want to know if the low morphology could be causing the miscarriages and if we would still have a good chance of conceiving naturally.
3. My husband was treated for testicular cancer and we were able to bank his sperm. I am trying to decide whether to try IUI first or go straight to IVF given our limited sperm supply.
4. My husband has 1% sperm morphology but all other parameters are normal. I am getting mixed advice - the urologist thinks we can conceive naturally, but the RE recommends IUI. I want to understand more about the importance of morphology.

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Don't forget to ask your questions on Instagram for next week’s For Fertility’s Sake segment when you see the question box on Natalie’s page @nataliecrawfordmd. You can also ask a question by calling in and leaving a voicemail. Call 657–229–3672 and ask your fertility question today!     

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