usuk2004
I'm ONE!
Member since 5/05 5150 total posts
Name:
Farah
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Re: Does sperm need time to build up?
According to Taking Charge of Your Fertility, if you haven't had any problems thus far and haven't been trying for over 6 months without a BFP, you should assume your DH has a normal count and therefore BD every day around your ovulation. 
When we were TTC for DS, DH had an SA and found that while his count and motility were fine, his morphology was low (meaning he had a lot of abnormally formed sperm). I did a lot of research at the time and found this article which gives some good tips so that you're working with the best sperm. HTH!
Sperm have to spend some time in the epididymis where they undergo their final maturation and "cleaning-up" as they wait to be ejaculated. However prolonged abstention, say more than 10-14 days, will cause the sperm to deteriorate, reducing their motility and morphology. Plus also sperm antibodies if present, will build up and further impair sperm function. The semen volume will certainly increase during this abstention period but the specimen will be more dilute and most of this will be lost after intercourse, running out as the "after-flow" as it's called. As the sperm performance will also have been reduced then this will be a specimen of much poorer quality than ideal.
Conversely too frequent ejaculation, and this means more than three/four times per week for most men, (unless they have a natural high volume as some men do), will maintain a good sperm count and quality, but the volume of the specimen will start to reduce to a point where it becomes too low to adequately cover the cervix to allow sperm to swim into the cervical mucus where they are happiest. Also as vaginal fluid is generally hostile to sperm there needs to be a reasonable volume to dilute this effect down.
So the ideal frequency for best volume. count, motility. morphology and sperm antibody minimalisation, is every 2-3 days. And this means keeping up this rate even prior to ovulation. There is no point in abstaining from ejaculation until presumed ovulation and then starting to do it, with "old" sperm. If you are unable to make love early in the cycle either because you are regularly not together at that time, or she is unwell, then the man needs to masturbate in the interim so that when you do get together you are immediately working with your best sperm.
From the woman's point of view her pre-ovulatory cervical mucus will usually be suitable for sperm penetration around two days prior to ovulation and stay so for a day after ovulation, and good sperm will last about 2-3 days in this mucus. Thus there is a three-day window within which sperm can enter into and survive within the female genital tract. Making love every 2-3 days around ovulation, ie three times in the week of ovulation will give the best sperm picture and the best chance of this coinciding with ovulation. There is no need and no benefit in struggling to find "the day" and then struggling to "do it" on that day. This is stressful, and stress reduces sperm quality and seminal volume, and impairs ovulation.
Message edited 2/23/2012 8:53:23 AM.
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