SA MORPHOLOGY: POST YOUR DOCTOR's COMMENT HERE

[dreaminghopin]

Great thread ladies

My dh's most recent sperm report:
Volume 2.7mls
Concentration per mil 33 million
Motility 50% (rapid progressive 48%)
morph 2%

Although no expert it does seem that morph isn't too much of an issue if you have a high count. I wish there was a study that would evaluate the likelihood of pregnancy in relation to functioning sperm. Although the recent WHO guideline state that for example 5% of males got their partners pregnant with 3% morph... I imagine those males would have had very high counts. Likewise the males who got their Partners pregnant with a count of 15 mill sperm would have probably had excellent morph.

Despite our pretty rubbish numbers, we did conceive in dec 2011 but sadly miscarried.

 

[Conceive81]

Hi Ladies,

Not sure if this thread is still active, but here goes:

Volume = 2.0 (reference range >2.0)
Sperm Concentration = 161.4 million (reference range >20 million)
Total Sperm Concentration = 322.7 million (reference range >40 million)
Motility = 90 million (reference range >40 million)
Viscosity = 1 -normal
WBC = 2-4 per hpf (refrence range < 1 million/ml)
Activity = 3 (ref range 1-sluggish, 4 very active)
Progression = 36 (ref range >25%)
PH = 7.6 (ref range 7.2-7.8)

Strict Morphology:

% of Normal = 1 (ref range >14%)
Large = 0
Small = 36
Taper = 7
Amorphous = 28
Duplicate Head = 0
Acrosomal Deficiency = 0
Vacuole = 28
Neck/Midpiece Defect = 0
Cytoplacsmic Mass = 0
Tail defect = 0
Other = 0

Notes:

In the initial testing a small number of immotile cells were present. Many of the motile sperm cells progressed well but some also showed mostly fine Lateral Head Displacement. These findings are reflected in a good 90% motility and a good progression score of 36%. Morphologically only 1% of the sperm cells were normal with the presence of spermatogonia.

It has been our experience that when a majority of the sperm cells show only one or two vacuoles and/or small size, in spite of the abnormal morphology, progression score maybe around normal or above it, as is the case with this patient.


What do you all think? RE said that because of his high count and motility, the 1% doesn't necessarily mean 1%...you have to multiply that factor or something. I had IUI with injectibles last Sunday...praying for a bfp.

 

[Bluenpinkmom]

i would want to share my sister in law's case :
her DH was diagnosed with male factor with 8% morphology.. though the standards are 4% her doctor still thought it was way less.. they had a hell of a doctor and though i dont want to mention his name, he claims himself to be a great OB, he works at monteray bay ivf at CA... i would not even mention but still i do cause he was that pathetic.. he straight way told them ivf also is a waste for them and he gave them ICSI as the only option. Dejected, they took a cycle off.. and baam she was pregnant that cycle.. so i swear by 4%... sorry if that was a kind of vent but just wanted to educate everyone on horrible doctors around

 

[Butterfly22]

My DH Morphology is 14%. Doctor is telling us IVF is probably our only option but we can try IUI 1st if we really want to. However, after research we are finding that 14% is not that bad! I just had a Lap&Dye done last month that did find issues that were fixed. Now, the only "issue" is DH morphology is 14%. We have decided to try natural and just have fun like in the beginning.

I do believe it depends on the total sperm count though. For instance 5% of 50million actually contains less normal sperm than 3% of 200million. I also read that having sex less often causes the sperm to change shape so if the SA total number is great than having sex everyday might be better for you! I am no expert though - this is only stuff I've read.

 

[ChaiLatte]

Hello, have read through this entire thread and see a lot of interesting info.

Here is our result:

Count: 36M per ml (86M total)
Motility: 65%
Morphology: 3%

I don't have any other details as the numbers were given over the phone.

Because of the low morphology, DH's doc had him checked for a varicoceles, but there wasn't one. But the doc did say we should be able to conceive naturally, as the other numbers are high enough to offset the low morphology.

Thoughts on this? I'm concerned because other Docs mentioned in this thread seem to say IVF is recommended if morphology is that low.

We have no female factor issues that we know of. DH is taking FertilAid pills to see if that helps.

 

[CaliDreaming]

Hello, have read through this entire thread and see a lot of interesting info.

Here is our result:

Count: 36M per ml (86M total)
Motility: 65%
Morphology: 3%

I don't have any other details as the numbers were given over the phone.

Because of the low morphology, DH's doc had him checked for a varicoceles, but there wasn't one. But the doc did say we should be able to conceive naturally, as the other numbers are high enough to offset the low morphology.

Thoughts on this? I'm concerned because other Docs mentioned in this thread seem to say IVF is recommended if morphology is that low.

We have no female factor issues that we know of. DH is taking FertilAid pills to see if that helps.

Hi ChaiLatte.

My dh got only a 0.5% on morphology and a 30% motility result on his SA. I don't remember what my dh's counts were, but I know it was well above the minimum they like to see.

My current RE did not seem concerned at all about the morphology result. She was a little concerned about the motility, which she described as "on the low end of normal". I asked her if this was the reason we were not getting pregnant, and she said no. She would have expected us to have gotten pregnant even with the low morphology and borderline motility.

I consulted a second RE, and he had a totally different opinion on my husband's sperm and wanted to send him to a urologist. In our consultation, he even asked who fathered my two year old child because he was so confident that my dh's sperm was the problem. He had told us it could take us years and years to get pregnant with those numbers. When I told him dh was the father and that it only took us eight months to conceive--(and I only have one tube open and suspected endometriosis)--he mumbled "well sperm counts can change over time"

So I have every reason to believe my current RE is right on this one, because my dh has fathered four children in his lifetime--three with his ex wife and one with me two years ago. Sperm can change over time, but it's usually a very gradual decline.

Also, from what I can gather, there is a great deal of variations between labs in what they consider to be "normal" sperm. It's a totally subjective thing. Many REs only pay attention to morphology if the sperm is "grossly" abnormal.

I hope this is reassuring to you!!!

 

[Ruskiegirl]

Mabey you ladies can help me out , We got our results today and doc was concerned with his morphology , but everything I have read said its good . He wants DH to see a urologist but is it really needed ?
https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h91/Bmxfreestylegirl/SAM_0494_zps31702b77.jpg
https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h91/Bmxfreestylegirl/SAM_0496_zpsf5d7e5af.jpg

 

[CaliDreaming]

Your doctor is basing his opinion on the OLD classification system. Under the new WHO guidelines, anything 4% and over is normal. Check out this blog from an RE who explains it all very well https://www.drlicciardi.com/2010/07/sperm-morphology-new-guidelines-announced-4-is-normal-2.html

If you do a google search for Dr. Licciardi and morphology, he has other blog posts on this same subject which explains why many REs don't put a whole lot of stock in abnormal morphology unless there are gross abnormalities.

My dd is living proof that abnormal morphology is not usually a cause of infertility.

 

[Ruskiegirl]

Thank you so much hun , I thought that was what was going on . Guess I will call and talk to my doc I don't want any unnessary fee's cause my insurance doesn't cover infertility treatments at all

 

[calimom029]

Hi!
I'm 29, DH is 31. I have no fertility problems (all exams came back great). So today we got DH's sperm analysis results and I have to say I'm devasted with the results. His sperms have low morphology and abnormal viscosit.y All the other numbers are great and way above normal range. The only problem is the morphology and viscosity. I've read that viscosity is not a big deal... He can even take mucinex to correct it. But I'm so scared about the low morphology. DH doesn't smoke and doesn't drink. He is young and healthy... So why this?? Sorry but I just need to vent... I'm so sad I called my doctor's office and the first available appointment is in 2 weeks. So while I'm wait to hear our "fate" from our doctor I'd like to know if there is anyone out there with the same problem and have some info or tips to share... Is IVF our only possible route? And about IUI?? Has anyone had the same problem and ended up getting a BFP??

Here is a copy of the results:

Color: Opalescent (normal= opalescent)

Volume (ml) : 4.1 (normal >1.5)

Liquefaction: complete (normal < 60 minutes)

pH: 7.6 (normal >7.2)

Viscosity: Moderate (normal= none - slight)

Sperm Concentration: 54.4 (normal >15)

Total Ejaculate: 223.04 (normal >39)

%mobile sperm: 51.5 (normal >40%)

Grade of progression: 3, 2+ (normal >2)

Agglutination: Slight (normal= none-slight)

% Normal Morphology 2.5 (normal >4)