Sperm Morphology (Teratozoospermia.)

So as most of you know my Husband has Sperm Morphology (Teratozoospermia) which means his sperm is abnormal and he only has 1% normal sperm. I am researching this and I want do let you know what I learn, so ya'll know what I am actually dealing with and for those who's Husband has this also, and who just wants to learn about this. So sit back and let's begin. Approximately 15-20% of couples attempting to achieve pregnancy in the United States each year face difficulties with fertility. Of those couples, a pure "female factor" is repsonsible for about 35-40% of cases. Another 35% of cases are purse "male factor" Couple with combination of male and female factors account for the remaining 25-30% of cases. Therefore, a male infertility factor plays a part for more than 50% of couples unable to conceive on their own. Now back to Sperm Morphology (Teratozoospermia) The sperm can not penetrate the egg because of the abnormal shape of the sperm. And you need to directly go to In Vitro Fertilization(IVF) with ICSI. What is ICSI you ask? ICSI is an acronym for intracytoplasmic sperm injection - which is a fancy way of saying "inject sperm in the middle of the egg" ICSI is a very effective method to fertilize eggs in the IVF lab after they have been retrieved from the female. ICSI has revolutionised our approach to the infertile man, and it promises the possibility for every man to have a baby, no matter how abnormal his sperm. Pregnancy success rates for IVF procedures with ICSI have been shown in some studies to be higher than for IVF without ICSI. This is because in many of the cases needing ICSI the female is relatively young and fertile (good egg quantity and quality) as compared to some of the women having IVF for other reasons. In other words, the average egg quantity and quality tends to be better in ICSI cases (male factor cases) because it is less likely that there is a problem with the eggs.This picture on the right is intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Unfortunately, many doctors still offer IUI treatment for men with Teratozoospermina. The hope seems to be washing the sperm will help the doctor to recover the "best sperm" and since only one sperm is needed to fertilize the egg, then IUI will improve the chances of achieving a pregnancy. Unfortunately, IUI is a terrible treatment for Teratozoospermia, which is a very low pregnancy rate. The problem is that men with Teratozoospermia have sperm which functionall incompetent, which is why washing the sperm and doing IUI does not help. The diagnosis of poor sperm morphology can be such a blow to one's ego --- it is so totally unexpected, because it is not associated with other symptoms or signs. Men react differently - but common feelings include anger with the wife and the doctor; resentfulness about having to participate in infertility testing and treatment since they feel having babies is the woman's "job"; loss of self-esteem; and temporary sexual dysfunction such as loss of desire and poor erections. Many men also feel very guilty that because of "their" medical problem, they are depriving their wife the pleasures of experiencing motherhood. Unfortunately, social support for the infertile man is practically non-existent, and he is forced to put up a brave front and show that he doesn't care. Since he is a man, he is not allowed to display his emotions. He is expected to provide a shoulder for his wife to cry on - but he needs to learn to cry alone. However, remember that the urge for fatherhood can be biologically as strong as the urge for motherhood - and we should stop treating infertile men as second class citizens!!

As for my Husband and I, I am completely there for him and assure him that this is NOT his fault, that God has just delt this hand to us. He is the love of my life and just because of his Infertility, I do NOT love him ANY less, I have Infertility of my own. And it does NOT make him any less of a man or me any less than a woman. I know how hard his sperm issues have been on him, even though he doesn't say it, and he says it's his fault I can't get pregnant and that I have to go through all these Fertility meds, Injections and IUIs, but I do NOT blame him ONE BIT. As I sit here and write this, a lot of tears are rolling down my cheeks. I don't know what I would do without my Husband, he is my first love, my first everything, my high school sweetheart, my one and only., and we have been together 7 years this month. And to know what he is going through with this, it breaks my heart. It also breaks my heart every single month we get a BFN because I see his heart breaking... It is not his or my fault we have Infertility, God gave it to us because he knows that we are strong enough to handle it. All you Fertiles, do you how it feels to see your Husband's heart breaking so badly every single month and there is nothing you can do to heal it but be there for him? He wants to be a Daddy as much as I want to be a Mommy, if not probably even more so. And I will do EVERYTHING in my power to get him his baby, I don't care about all the physical pain or mental pain I have to go through, I am doing this for my Husband, our future baby and of course myself. But mostly for my Husband. *>>Bruce, I want you to know that I do NOT blame you, that we will get our baby one way or another. You will be the greatest Daddy and I can't wait to see the look on your face when we get our BFP and we will. Know that I love you more than anything in this world, as much as a person can love another. And that you are my hero.<<* I obviously had a lot of more researched but didn't have enough time to get it all, if you want to know more, go ahead and google it. :)