Semen Analysis
Semen analysis is usually one of the first steps in your fertility workup as it is very easy to do. It is inexpensive and it is not harmful or as invasive to test your husband's semen as it is to do some of the tests often required of you.
Once your husband has produced a specimen, your fertility clinic's lab does a routine analysis as set forth by the World Health Organization (WHO). The lab technician will look at the following factors in your husband's semen:
Volume of semen — How much semen is produced? (Normally this is between 2–6 ml.)
Density of semen — How many sperm are there per milliliter of semen? 20 million sperm per milliliter is a good number.
Total sperm count — This number should be greater than 40 million per specimen.
pH level — Alkalinity or acidity, preferably a 7–8 on the pH scale.
Sperm morphology — At least 30 percent of the sperm should be of a normal oval shape.
Sperm motility — How well the sperm swim.
Sperm viscosity — The thickness of the sample.
Sperm liquefaction — It should liquify within about an hour.
Sperm agglutination — There should be no sperm sticking together.
This test is done after your husband has abstained from ejaculation for at least 2 days. It can also be repeated at various periods of time during your testing and treatment. For example, if you proceed to do in vitro fertilization, your partner's semen will be analyzed at the time of the retrieval of your eggs.
