The signs that your partner is getting ready to nest may be as subtle as an earth quake. Suddenly babies are being put into your arms at every family function with everyone making chirping sounds about what a good father you would make. Books with baby-making tips and parenting advice may have found its way into your bathroom reading basket,. You may have even found “The Top 100 Baby Names” in your email inbox. One thing is for sure, when your lady is ready to make a baby – you will know it.
Assuming you are on board with her biological clock, be ready to join her in some pre-conception check-ups! In case you didn’t get the memo, men contribute half of the baby-making goods and are also equally responsible when conception does not occur easily. In fact, approximately 7 million couples will experience conception issues but before the female goes through a battery of tests, you must check the male’s sperm count to see if it’s normal or low. Yet it’s estimated that only 20 percent of you (men) in couples struggling to conceive have this test early on or at all. What’s more, almost half of all infertility problems are directly attributed to the male, and most of them are mainly due to low sperm count. So, before you start your baby-making engines, you want to be in the best possible shape to conceive.
Healthy Sperm Tips:
- How are the boys? The easiest way for men to get a handle on what is happening with their sperm is to do a quick check in! How is the count? Is it normal? A normal sperm count is above 20 million sperm per milliliter. You can find out if your sperm is in normal range in the privacy of your own home with new SpermCheck Fertility, the only FDA-approved at-home screening test for men to determine normal or low sperm count. SpermCheck Fertility costs substantially less than a visit to the doctor and is available now online at Walgreens and CVS (soon to be at stores). It’s an affordable and accurate first step in male fertility testing and can help inform you as to whether or not more comprehensive clinical fertility evaluation is needed.
- Feed Your Fertility: Eat all the things you know you should but probably don’t, including fruits, vegetables and low-fat protein. Some studies have suggested that some men with low sperm count may also have a zinc deficiency. Boost your zinc and maybe your fertility by eating more meat, wholegrain cereals, seafood, and eggs. Selenium, which is found in Brazil nuts, meat, seafood, mushrooms and cereals, has also been found to sperm very happy.
- The Drink That Refreshes: Sorry but you’ll have to cap your caffeine and alcohol drinks to one cuppa joe (or latte or cappuccino) a day and maybe the occasional glass of wine. Heavy drinking is a fertility wrecker for both women and men.
- Get Moving: First ditch the spandex, then go onto a regular, moderate workout plan. Exercise is the gift of the fertility gods. They help keep your hormones happy, your weight under control and bring down your stress levels. Heavy exercise that involves a lot of heat or compression of your testicles (like bike riding) is not good for your sperm. And stay out of the sauna or hot water soaks after you work out. Sperm hate the heat, keep your testicles cool!
- Smoke Signals: Tobacco, even marijuana is no friend of fertility. Smoking can increase susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases in both men and women, and it is known to reduce your sperm count. It’s just plain bad.
- Take a Good Look Around: Your work environment may be a contributing factor to your fertility. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, ongoing exposure to certain things like pesticides, chemical fertilizers, lead, nickel, mercury, chromium, ethylene glycol ethers, petrochemicals, benzene, perchloroethylene, and radiation can wreak havoc with your sperm count, and quality.
I know that taking on the sperm project, may feel like a lot of don’ts, but the fact is that there is a lot of yes in here too! It’s show time! Sex is on the front burner, and think of all the fabulous, romantic, and sexy opportunities that await you. Consider going on a “Baby Moon”, a vacation all about sex, love, and conception. If all goes well, you won’t be able to get away alone together for a while. Happy Baby Making!
