What Should He Expect?

What should your husband/partner expect during a fertility workup?
 
First, he should be ready for an overall examination of all his fertility related parts. One of the things that the doctor will be looking for is varicoceles in the scrotal sac. This is a common reason for infertility in men and can be remedied with a simple day surgery. 
 
The second thing he should expect is a semen analysis. The analysis will pinpoint any problems with the quantity and quality of the sperm. What the doctors are looking for are at least 20 million sperm per milliliter of semen and they also want to see more than 50 percent of the sperm active and moving.   In addition, the semen analysis will determine if there is any sperm that is irregular or broken. Doctors refer to this problem as DNA fragmentation. It is best if there are fewer than 30 percent of the sperm with fragmentation.  It will be important that he abstains from sex for 3 days before the test so that his sperm count is at its highest.   The semen analysis can be completed either in the doctor’s office or at home. Those completed at home need to be raced to the lab within an hour.
 
These are the basic tests that men can expect. Most of the information needed to come up with a male ttc (trying to conceive) plan can be obtained from these 2 procedures. So if your husband is dragging his feet at the thought of fertility testing, you can assure him that it is a walk in the park compared to what you are going to endure!!!!!!! LOL!