Becoming a dad: 8 things to know about your swimmers if fatherhood is on the agenda

Because pregnancy is almost always framed as a woman's concern, we often forget that it takes two to tango.

With Father's Day just around the corner, perhaps it's time to evaluate how exactly men contribute to pregnancy, which then leads to parenthood.

Let's put sperms under the spotlight, and learn how these little swimmers can help turn you into a dad. 

1. Sperms like a colder environment

According to urologist Dr. Marlon Martinez, the seminal fluid from men — commonly known as semen or cum — is the composition of sperm cells and fluids necessary for the latter’s nutrients.

While sperm cells are produced in the male’s testes — eggs in layman’s terms — majority of the seminal fluid comes from the seminal vesicle which is “far from the testes itself.”

Notice that the testes are not closely attached to the body? Dr. Martinez explains it's because it needs a colder environment to produce good sperm.

When trying to conceive, men might want to revisit the boxers-or-briefs debate. Citing the 2018 study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that found that men who primarily wear boxers had a 25% higher sperm concentration, Dr. Martinez said Team Boxers actually have higher sperm count and quality than Team Briefs.

“Briefs are tight-fitting, closer to the body, so it’s warmer,” he told GMA News Online in a mix of English and Filipino. “Boxers are loose so there's less heat production.”

Dr. Martinez added that when trying to get pregnant, men should avoid activities that would increase temperature in the testes. These activities include extensive cycling and using the jacuzzi or sauna for long periods of time.

2. Millions of sperms are produced everyday

It might seem like an exaggeration but it's true: A dude is capable of producing several millions of sperms each day. Some can even go up to a whopping 400 million.

They are not automatically ready, though. Sperms start as stem cells which need to undergo spermatogenesis for around 2.5 months, until they become mature sperms or spermatozoa.

Once they are ready for further development, they will be transferred to the epididymis where they will acquire motility or the ability to move independently.

“The sperms from the testes are immotile but once they reach the epididymis, they start to have motility function and be ready for ejaculation,” Dr. Martinez said.

Given that there are millions of sperms inside the body, what happens when a man doesn’t ejaculate? The sperms undergo apoptosis or program cell death.

“[They] will be absorbed by the body which will also continue producing new ones,” he said.

3. Sperms can live up to five days inside a woman’s body

A sperm’s life depends on the circumstances, once it’s ejaculated. Upon entering another body — say, the insides of a female’s reproductive tract — sperms can stay alive for two to five days.

As such, Dr. Martinez said it is not advised to have sexual intercourse everyday, when the woman is known to be fertile or undergoing ovulation.

“For example, they had contact on Monday. If our [average] life for the sperm is three days, the sperm will still be inside on Tuesday and Wednesday. She can still get pregnant.”

It is important to note, however, that pregnancy won’t happen if the woman is not ovulating.

“Even if the sperm was able to enter, if there is no egg cell, no one can get pregnant,” he said, adding that tracking a woman’s cycle is important.

“[Tracking the cycle is] only applicable for women with a regular menstrual cycle, though, but there are other parameters to know if a woman is ovulating or not,” he continued.

4. How would you know if your sperm is healthy?

Contrary to how sperms are usually drawn or visualized — like tadpoles with round heads — they should not have round heads, if you plan on having a baby in the future.

According to the US National Library of Medicine, sperms with round heads are incapable of penetrating an egg cell. Instead, they should be oval-shaped with a cap-like covering.

Dr. Martinez said other abnormal appearances of a sperm include two heads, a small head, a short or two tails. “Abnormal shaped decrease the chances of having a child,” he added.

On the seminal fluid’s smell, meanwhile, Dr. Martinez said it should not have any scent at all.

“Ideally, it should be odorless. Sometimes, there’s a smell so you’ll think maybe there’s an infection especially when it’s super pungent or strong.”

To fully know if your swimmers are on the right track, Dr. Martinez said the only way to know is through a semen analysis, which examines the semen through masturbation.

It will show how your sperms are doing in terms of volume, count, motility, morphology, and vitality, among others, and compare it with the World Health Organization guidelines.

Dr. Martinez noted that the semen analysis still has lapses and it still won’t be able to identify if a sperm is fertile or infertile.

“It doesn’t mean that when your semen analysis is normal, you’ll have a baby. It also does not mean that your semen analysis is abnormal,” he said.

“Sometimes they are idiopathic or unexplained. Meaning, their semen analysis is normal but they still have problems with having a child. We still don’t know the cause.”

By the way, the quality of the sperm can change by the day, depending on the person’s condition.

5. What’s good for the heart is good for the sperm

With sperms being “somehow associated” with how an offspring would turn out, urologist Dr. Marlon Martinez said that having a healthy lifestyle is recommended.

Apart from avoiding vices like smoking and drinking alcohol, eating leafy vegetables and fruits is a must - just like caring for one’s heart health.

“Those with a healthy diet appeared to have better semen parameters than those who always eat burgers, steak, food high in animal protein and processed food.”

“Somehow, it has effect on the sperms just like those patients with heart problems.”

But just like how a normal semen analysis can’t promise a baby, Dr. Martinez said a good lifestyle also doesn’t guarantee the fertility — or infertility — of sperms.

It doesn’t hurt to try, though, and sperm parameters can also be improved with minerals or supplements, especially for those with parters who have conditions like PCOS.

6. Sperm count and quality lessens with age

Although men can produce sperm all the way up to age 90, it is important to note that sperm count and quality deteriorates beginning at age 34.

Dr. Martinez points to studies that have found men who have children at an old age of at least 60 years old have children with abnormalities.

“Usually, their offsprings have problems like down syndrome, psychological problems such as schizophrenia and substance abuse,” he said.

“It may be directly because of the quality of the sperm so maybe it were damaged sperms that led to the pregnancy. That will be the result,” he added.

7. Sperms can leak and come out with the so-called pre-cum

Pre-cum or the pre-ejaculation fluid can make a woman pregnant, but only if there’s a leak.

According to Dr. Martinez, the pre-ejaculation fluid is involuntary, getting secreted to provide the sperms with necessary lubrication. It does not contain the sperms.

Although it’s rare, there are studies that say there is a 16 to 41% chance that leaks can happen, making sperms come out with the pre-cum fluid.

On sperms that got stuck from the previous ejaculation, meanwhile, Dr. Martinez said he thinks that the amount would not be enough to result in pregnancy.

“It’s possible that there will be some sperms stuck in the seminal vesicle especially if it has just been one to three days, but that’s only prominent if there’s a clog or problem,” he said.

“If not, ideally, all should be ejaculated. If there is, it would just be a very small amount which I think isn’t sufficient to get someone pregnant because of pre-cum,” he added.

8. Sperms are needed to get pregnant

The size of a penis shouldn’t be much of a problem, if you only plan on getting pregnant.

“The genital organ’s size is related more on the couple’s pleasure, but not directly related on whether they’ll get pregnant or not. Remember that you only need two things to get pregnant: a sperm and egg," Dr. Martinez said.

If a penis is too small that penetration becomes hard though, Dr. Michael Reitano told the Health website in 2019 that various sex positions can be explored to make it easier to conceive.

“The penis can be so small that penetration becomes a bit of an issue. Then the placement of the semen far enough into the vagina is limited," he said.

“Most people will find they [prefer] rear entry or the woman on top so she's able to take control of the positioning of the penis," he added.

Of course, all this to say: You still need to consult your doctor if you've been trying but haven't been successful. Every body is different so it's really a case-to-case basis.

To dudes whose swimmers have made them a dad, congratulations and happy father's day! — LA, GMA Newsa