Last Updated on March 16, 2024 by Natalie

The 3rd of this month was a year from when I found out I was pregnant, and ultimately ended up having a miscarriage. In many of the conversations I had with family, the OB/GYN and a maternal fetal specialist (MFM), many possible reasons for my miscarriage came up.

Nature’s way of  eliminating something that’s just not right.

The body and pregnancy is a complicated thing and if anything is off, it won’t work out.

Maybe the placenta was unable to attach perfectly.

Could’ve been anything that didn’t fall perfectly together. The MFM feels it was likely a chromosomal abnormality.

No one brought up my husband or his sperm in any of the possibilities.

Not for purposes of finding a place to set the blame. But for allowing a better idea of what you’re working with. All the suggested possibilities felt like they were only mine to own. The power lies in the egg. Not the sperm. I thought maybe something was wrong with my egg. Never did I consider the health of the sperm. I figured all it needed to do was reach and break into that egg.

I was surprised to learn about how much weight the father has in the success of a pregnancy. His role’s finish line is not fertilization. 

I have a personal interest in the topic of sperm health. After all the testing done to myself and my husband when trying to conceive my now-3-year-old the only “issue” found was in my husband’s sperm analysis. He had less than the normal 4% of normally shapen sperm. At the recommendation of the Reproductive Endocrinologist, he started taking Fertilaid and I got pregnant 4 months later (after 11 months of trying to conceive). After my miscarriage last year, we started trying to conceive as soon as we were able to. It’s now been 9 months of trying and we, again, both went through testing. My husband’s semen analysis came back with the same issue: Abnormal Morphology. And worse than it was 4 years ago, despite the fact that he has been taking Fertilaid for the past 9 months. 

I interviewed Ayla Barmmer, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner. She began specializing in fertility after a natural evolution in practice. A need for fertility support in the community kept landing her in front of patients looking for guidance. With time and practice, Ayla found that an evidence-based, holistic approach including both partners brought the best results as men are half of the equation in baby-making.

Ayla gave me an interesting peek into the importance of male fertility and how to optimize it. 

Does Age Affect Quality of Male Sperm Like it Does Womens’ Eggs?

We often hear “35” as the magic number for women when talking about fertility risks and challenges due to the quality of their eggs. Do men have the same magic number? Because it seems not.

Ayla explained that the amount of DHEA we produce declines as we age. DHEA is known as the Master Hormone because it produces other hormones including testosterone and estrogen. Men need testosterone to produce quality sperm. What’s more important than any specific age are stressors’ cumulative effect on the body as we age. By stressors, we are talking about nutrient deficiencies, personal care products, pollutants and lifestyle.

So how about a round about age when men start to have a decline in sperm health and quality? While there is no specific age for men, many can expect a considerable decline around age 45 and older.

How Do We Minimize and Compensate for Stressors? 

For men, it’s mostly about antioxidants. Sperm are sensitive to environmental stress (i.e. pollution, toxins). Antioxidants help protect sperm health and counteract damage. 

To What Extent Can Men Affect Pregnancy Health?

New research shows men have a role in pregnancy complications. A man’s preconception health (3 months prior to conception) affects sperm health. The sperm produced 80-90 days prior will be the sperm that will conceive the baby. Sperm health has a large effect on the health of the placenta and may influence preeclampsia, preterm birth, pregnancy and miscarriage. Sperm makes up to not only 50% of the impact on pregnancy but also on the baby’s long term health.

What Can Men Do to Improve Fertility and the Health of the Baby?

A holistic approach is the best way to improve sperm health. Meaning diet, lifestyle changes and dietary supplements. 

Diet: eat a diet high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Fruits and vegetables are the foods that will deliver antioxidants. Focus on a lot of colors. Seafood is the only food to give a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids.

Lifestyle: get 7-8 hours of sleep and exercise routinely. Any movement gets blood circulating. If a man has lower levels of testosterone, more intense high interval exercise is recommended. But like with anything, too much is no good. Overexercising and undereating will reduce the production of reproductive hormones.

Supplements: Supplements can play a pivotal role but are not the be-all and end-all.

What Specific Nutrients are Important for Men to Improve the Overall Health of the Baby?

A smart, well-balanced multivitamin is a good base. But specifically:

• Vitamins A, C & E – powerful antioxidants that counteract the damage of free radicals from stress
• B-Vitamins (Folate) – supports overall sperm production
• Selenium – a powerful antioxidant with protective function. Recommended: 200 mg
• Zinc – supports sperm motility and testosterone production. Recommended: 50 mg
• Lycopene – helps with sperm count, viability and quality. Just a small amount needed.

After working with fertility patients and familiarizing herself with the different fertility supplements and nutrients, Ayla created FullWell Vitality + Virility, her own supplement for male fertility, to include all of the important nutrients.

Are There Supplements Men Should Stay Away From? 

If you are combining supplements to get all of the helpful nutrients, do not exceed a maximum recommended dosage. My husband takes an outrageous amount of vitamins (in my opinion). Last month, I assessed my husband’s supplements to make sure that we weren’t overdoing certain nutrients, such as Zinc or Folate. Changes were made. 

Be wary of products made by companies who don’t share a full list of ingredients or mention a proprietary blend. It’s important to have access to independent 3rd party testing results to make sure they don’t contain contaminants. 

How Long Until Efforts to Improve Sperm Health Have an Effect? 

At least 3 months.

What Should Men Avoid to Increase Fertility?

Funnel your body’s resources towards fertility. If it needs to make the choice, the body will choose survival over fertility. Give your body a break by avoiding: 

• Chemical and heavy metal exposure. 
• Toxins. Obviously, we are unable to eliminate all exposure to pollutants but a simple way to reduce toxin exposure is to discontinue the use of synthetic fragrance products i.e. cologne, air fresheners, candles.
• Avoid or reduce alcohol consumption for 3 months for healthier sperm and pregnancies. The liver requires so many nutrients as it is. Don’t spend resources on having it filter alcohol, too.
• Smoking

Last month, immediately after my interview with Ayla, I told my husband about everything I learned. We made changes to his supplements. About 2 weeks ago my husband redid his semen analysis and while it still came back with more abnormal sperm morphology than is considered good, it’s better than it was the first two times he tested. I know 1 month is not long enough to make a significant difference but I believe we’re on the right track.

You can follow Ayla Barmmer or her fertility supplement company FullWell on IG for information about fertility.

Also, if you’re TTC check out my post I Used a Menstrual Cup When Trying to Conceive.

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Have you dealt with fertility challenges? Comment below to share.