Many couples who have difficulty conceiving begin to take various tests. Quite often, especially in recent years, a problem is found in a man. One of the diseases leading to the formation of male infertility is teratozoospermia.
Some doctors, upon seeing a confirmed diagnosis, immediately recommend turning to assisted reproduction methods, in particular, in vitro fertilization and its varieties. However, before deciding on extreme measures, it is worth learning more about an insidious disease. How are teratozoospermia and pregnancy related? We will understand in this article.
Disease definition
Teratozoospermia is a lesion of spermatozoa, consisting in a violation of their morphological structure. In common parlance, it is often called "the disease of ugly sperm." Sperms containing various genetic errors are not able to form a full-fledged, viable embryo.
The irregular shape of the tail, head, neck, or all together also interferes with the normal process of moving towards the egg. Instead of gliding smoothly in a straight line, the defective sperm cells move in different directions, backward, or generally remain in place. Most often, teratozoospermia and pregnancy are mutually exclusive concepts.
What is the danger?
The disease can create many obstacles that prevent a woman from becoming pregnant and having a baby:
- the impossibility of pregnancy;
- early cessation of embryo activity;
- pathologies of fetal development, leading to natural or forced termination of pregnancy;
- extremely high risk of rejection of the embryo and miscarriage.
Factors in making a conclusion about the presence of a disease
Consider how teratozoospermia and pregnancy are related.
It should be noted that in any portion of the male seed that has been submitted for research to compose a spermogram, a certain number of abnormal sperm cells will be met. This is a normal situation, moreover, this state of affairs is necessary for the implementation of the productive fertilization of a partner.
A huge number of sperm, simultaneously moving to the meeting place with the egg, is dangerous because they will interfere with each other, crowding and preventing anyone from breaking through to the desired point. Morphologically erroneous cells can be up to half of the total. The diagnosis of teratozoospermia is made in the presence of less than 50% of spermatozoa with the correct structure.
Therefore, teratozoospermia and pregnancy cannot exist together.
Morphological disorders in the development of the disease
A normal sperm has strictly defined sizes and shapes of its constituent parts. The following disorders are considered pathological:
- Changes in the structure of the head — increase or decrease in volume, bifurcation, absence of an acrosome — one of the chromosomes, determination of the presence of vacuole cells in the head, unnatural forms.
- A curved, too thin or thick neck is considered the mildest form of teratozoospermia, in which a natural pregnancy and the bearing of a healthy fetus are possible.
- The tail, twisted in the wrong direction, elongated or shortened, especially bifurcated or too twisted, does not allow the sperm to reach the final target, carrying out a chaotic or reverse movement.
Causes of the problem
Many are interested in the question: "Teratozoospermia, what is it?".
The modern world creates more and more risk factors that provoke the appearance of male infertility. The following causes most often correspond to the development of teratozoospermia:
- abuse of drinks containing caffeine, substances that stimulate the release of energy;
- use of alcohol, drugs, smoking;
- constant overheating of the inguinal region - baths, hot baths, a laptop located on your lap;
- long-term eating disorders - starvation or overeating, a large amount of fatty, sweet, food, smoked meats, marinades, salt;
- daily wearing too tight underwear and clothes, causing a decrease in blood supply to the testicles, lack of oxygen in the cells;
- external factors - polluted habitat, radiation exposure;
- sedentary lifestyle, especially complicated by the presence of excess weight;
- work associated with constant heavy physical labor or daily stress, overly busy schedules, lack of rest and sleep;
- hereditary disorders caused by genetic malfunction, entrenched in the offspring;
- diseases of the endocrine system, malfunctioning of the thyroid gland;
- diseases of the urinary system and genitals of various etiologies - viral or bacterial in nature, varicose veins of the testicles (varicocele), prostatitis, orchitis, urethritis, neoplasms, both benign and malignant.
In these cases, teratozoospermia is possible. Causes of occurrence may be other.
Most of the causes of the onset of the disease are provoked by the man himself, refusing to take care of his health. Unfortunately, in Russia there is still a widespread opinion that the inability to have children is exclusively the fault of the woman.
Reproductive opportunities
What can be the treatment for the diagnosis of teratozoospermia? Who helped? Reviews can be found later in the article.
The conclusion about the presence of teratozoospermia is not always a sentence, meaning infertility of a man. It is necessary to take into account the number of remaining healthy sperm, the degree of damage to abnormal ones, as well as other indicators of sperm. It is advisable to perform the analysis in as much detail as possible, in this case the field for the final conclusion will expand.
In the presence of 50-80% morphologically healthy cells, the likelihood of pregnancy naturally remains quite high, but it may take longer to conceive. However, within 2-3 years the couple usually appears healthy baby. It is worth considering that this is a fairly average indicator, the period often increases, sometimes decreases.
Teratozoospermia and IVF
If the disease affects more than 80-90% of sperm, the alternative fertilization method, IVF, is usually recommended. The advantages are the selection of only healthy male germ cells and their guaranteed connection with female eggs in an environment as close to natural as possible. After a successful manipulation, several embryos are transferred to the woman’s uterus, where further bearing occurs.
A type of in vitro fertilization is ICSI - a much more effective procedure. A technique has been shown for severe male infertility, including when there is teratozoospermia. Treatment and pregnancy are interconnected.
ICSI is successfully carried out, even if only one normal sperm is found in the ejaculate, which happens quite rarely. From IVF, the difference is only in the method of fertilization of the egg - in this case, sperm is inserted with a thin needle in order to be in the right place.
There are times when pregnancy is not occurring with a relatively normal number of healthy sperm. This may be due to structural features of the woman’s body, for example, with the bend of the uterus. In such situations, an artificial insemination procedure is often sufficient, in which a portion of the ejaculate, specially treated with drugs that increase its quality, is introduced into the uterine cavity during the ovulation cycle - egg maturation.
Treatment effectiveness
How effective is the treatment with a diagnosis of teratozoospermia? Who helped?
Reviews confirm that the disease belongs to the category of the most serious pathologies of the reproductive series, which is very difficult to correct. First of all, the reason for the maturation of spermatozoa with a disturbed morphology is established. Many note that some causes are relatively easily eliminated, after which the state of sperm improves significantly. However, this does not always happen. Patients note that most often the exact factor of the disease cannot be established or treatment does not bring tangible results. According to reviews, in such cases, pregnancy does not occur, is terminated independently or involuntarily due to pathologies of the development of the embryo. This situation, which lasts for several years, is a sufficient reason for the in vitro fertilization procedure.
If a man has teratozoospermia, can it be cured? This is a fairly common question. In any case, a course of treatment is necessary, as many patients note that they still managed to recover.
Preparations
In addition to normalizing lifestyle, diet and giving up bad habits, a special regimen is usually prescribed for taking drugs that positively affect sperm:
- "Spermaplant", "Spermaktiv", "Speroton" and the like dietary supplements containing zinc, selenium, vitamin E, L-carnitine;
- folic and succinic acids;
- Verona and similar drugs;
- "Iodomarin";
- beekeeping products, in particular drone milk, which has proven effectiveness in improving sperm counts;
- vitamin-mineral complexes containing the necessary substances that increase the quality of sperm.
According to the results of additional analyzes that have identified a possible cause of morphological changes, medications are prescribed to cure the main diseases - hormones, drugs that improve blood supply and restore the state of blood vessels, antibiotics, antiviral drugs and so on.
That's the insidious disease of teratozoospermia. What is it and how to treat, we examined above.
Conclusion
Teratozoospermia is a rather complex problem that can prevent a loving couple from conceiving a desired child. And if a man really wants to become a father, he should lead a healthy lifestyle, strictly follow the doctor’s instructions. Often a trip to the sea becomes a good help.
We considered teratozoospermia. What kind of disease this has become clearer. In general, it is advisable for both partners not to focus on the problem, otherwise the situation could only get worse. Doctors know a huge number of cases when the upset future parents agreed to IVF, calmed down, threw difficulties out of their heads, and a long-awaited natural pregnancy ensued.
The percentage of sperm with and without disorders does not always serve as the final confirmation of the impossibility of conception in a natural way. The use of additional aids, for example, special lubricants, compliance with a certain cycle of sexual intercourse increases the chances of a successful resolution of the problem.