Sperm Quality: what is normal ?

Sperm quality is judged on the basis of five factors defined by the World Health Organisation and if one of these factors is inadequate it can affect the chances of conception. These five factors are;

Number of sperm cells - this refers to the quantity of sperm cells in the sample of ejaculated semen. The normal ejaculate will contain more than 40 million sperm cells.

Concentration of sperm cells - this refers to the numbers of sperm in a single millilitre of ejaculate. A normal semen sample will contain more than 20 million sperm cells per millilitre of ejaculate.

Motility - this refers to the sperm cells ability to swim ie they should be strong swimmers! In a healthy semen sample more than 50% of the sperm will show excellent motility ie be strong swimmers, and 25% of them will move strongly in one direction. Experts believe that this is an important characteristic of sperm because of their need to swim from the vagina, through the cervix, into the womb and up the fallopian tubes to meet the released egg when ovulation occurs.

Speed - Some sperm cells move faster than others and at least 25% of the sperm cells should have fast and straight forward movement.

Morphology - This refers to the size and shape of the sperm and a healthy sperm looks rather like a tadpole. At least 30% of sperm cells should have normal shape and size.

The active ingredients in Proxeed support sperm quality by providing metabolic substrates for the cells making the sperm cells. Proxeed has been shown to improve sperm quantity, concentration, motility and speed of sperm cells.