What You Should Know About Sperm

Avatar By ASTROGLIDE Team
Sexual Health

A healthcare professional can determine what steps to you need to take to keep your sperm healthy and abundant. A male fertility test will typically measure:

1. Sperm count

Your sperm count is a measure of how many sperm are in a given amount of semen — the average is about 100 million sperm per ejaculation. It only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg, but most sperm do not survive the journey through the reproductive tract. A high sperm count increases the chances of one making it to the egg.

To better understand your fertility, learn the causes of low sperm count and what you can do about it.

2. Semen quantity

The chances of pregnancy are also affected by the amount of semen in ejaculate. Around 2-6 milliliters of semen is considered normal, while less than that may not be enough to make a baby.

3. Sperm motility

This is a measure of how many sperm are moving, as well as the direction of their movement. At least 50% of sperm should be moving forward in a straight line one hour after ejaculation.

After a doctor has established that you are fertile, timing is also an important factor in conception.

Once inside a woman’s body, sperm can live for up to 5 days – so even if you have sex before the most fertile point in her cycle, there is a chance that she will get pregnant. And though sperm production continues throughout a man’s entire life, sperm count may decrease with age.

Learn more about how to maintain healthy sperm: How to Keep Your Sperm Count High.

 

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