Seminal Fluid Analysis (SFA): Good Sperm Qualities
Seminal Fluid Analysis (SFA) is an important test that is done during fertility screening for males, to check the quality and quantity of their semen (the fluid that is produced during Ejaculation), and ensure that it is okay and enough to get a woman pregnant.
Seminal Fluid Analysis (SFA) is a very important test, and is one of the medical tests that every couple is recommended to do before marriage. (See others).
Qualities of a good Sperm
How do you know a good sperm? There are factors that makes up a good Sperm. These factors are what is routinely checked for in the Seminal Fluid Analysis of a man. These qualities include;
Volume
This refers to the total amount of semen produced in the ejaculate. To achieve pregnancy, the man should produce at least, 1.5 to 2ml of semen in each ejaculate. This means that a man should produce just about enough semen to fill a take-away plastic spoon.
Concentration
This refers to the amount of sperm cells that is in the semen. Some men can ejaculate, but there would be no sperm in the ejaculate. Just fluid. This is what we call Azospermia. To achieve pregnancy, there should be at least, 15 to 20 million sperm cells in 1ml of the man’s Semen. That means, in that spoon full of semen that was produced, there should be at least 30 to 40 million sperm there.
Morphology
This is talking about the Structure (head, body & tail) of the sperms in the semen. It is a common saying that “2 heads are better than one”, but this is not true when it comes to the sperm. ONE SPERM HEAD is better than 2. Some Sperm cells have 2 heads, while some others have no head. All these are Abnormal sperms. A damaged or abnormal sperm cannot fertilize an egg, and even when it does, it would lead to either miscarriage or the birth of a baby with congenital defects. Read about things that can damage your sperm here.
For pregnancy to occur, the semen morphology has to be at least, 50% normal sperm. This means that, at least half of the sperms (20 million) in the semen (40 million) should have a normal head, body and tail.
Motility
This is talking about the mobility of the sperm. That is if the sperm can move (swim, roll) or not. For pregnancy to occur, the sperm has to move from the vagina, all the way to the fallopian tubes, to meet the egg and fertilize it. If the sperm cannot move to do this, there would be no fertilization and no pregnancy. To get a woman pregnant, at least 40% (16 million) of the sperms in the semen (40 million) that a man produces should be able to move very well.
To summarize them all, a normal Seminal Fluid Analysis (SFA) result should have:
| Total volume of Semen produced | at least 1.5–2.0 mL |
| Total amount of normal Sperm cells in semen | at least 50% |
| Number of sperm in 1 ml of semen (concentration) | at least 15–20 million per mL |
| Number of sperms that are moving (motility) | At least 40% |
All these features are looked for in the Seminal Fluid Assay (SFA), and it is an important test in assessing male fertility.
A normal Seminal Fluid Analysis (SFA) result is essential to achieve fertilization and pregnancy, and eventually a healthy baby, in the absence of any other Problems with Erection.
There are some practices that can help you improve the quality of your sperm. Click here to read about them.
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