Low sperm count is a common and growing cause of subfertility. Although low sperm count will typically compromise fertility and can make natural conception difficult, it is by no means impossible, as these stories demonstrate.
Finally Pregnant – naturally!
I am one of those people who likes to be organised and do things right. So when we decided it was time to start a family we trotted off to the doctor to discuss me coming off contraception. We were disappointed to find that my cycles weren’t regular so timing intercourse was a bit of a nightmare. However we were still sure we were “doing it right” so back off to the doctor we went, over a year later, to see if we could check there was nothing else wrong. After tests for both my husband and I we found that hubby had very low sperm count (I think his highest test came back at 3 million). This was the point that our doctor suggested two options … IVF or Natural Fertility … and this was when we met Juliette.
The idea of IVF completely freaked us out so it was great to be reassured by Juliette that there were many other things we could try before heading down this route. Juliette’s approach to everything was so positive. I am a bit shy, especially about my body but with Juliette I talked about stuff I thought I would never mention, and I felt comfortable doing it. By seeing Juliette she taught us better to understand the whole “getting pregnant” thing, how to monitor cycles so we knew when I was most fertile and also some great ideas to help with Hubby’s sperm count.
To have Juliette there for that next stage was amazing for us. Both from a medical side and a support side. Someone to finally help decipher what is an old wives tale and what is scientifically proven to help. To listen when you want to give up and encourage you when you need it, all while being completely professional but approachable at the same time.
Thanks to Juliette we had the patience, trust and hope to keep trying for longer and we are now 24 weeks pregnant with our first, naturally conceived child.
Juliette we will see you in 16 weeks to show off the new addition! Thank you so much!
UPDATE: Baby Lucy has arrived! See her gorgeous photo above
Names withheld to protect privacy
Low sperm count – finally finding the cause!
Back in 2009, after trying for a number of months for a baby, we had a feeling something wasn’t right and decided to have some tests done. My husband’s sperm test came back low with just 10 million – however for some reason at the time we were not informed of this result and were simply told that the sperm had a ‘sluggish’ movement, our chances of conceiving naturally were low and we may need to consider IVF. Nevertheless after 10 months of trying to conceive I became pregnant and we have a beautiful daughter. We presumed if we conceived naturally once it could happen again, we realised it may still take a bit longer but it could happen.
Several years passed with no luck, I had been unwell for a couple of years and we thought it was probably due to this but after regaining my health and still not conceiving we decided to seek help. My husband’s sperm test came back extremely low; we retested it over a few months – the lowest came back as 1 million. We were devastated.
We decided to contact the doctors who had tested him back in 2009 for the test details and it was then that we were given the results which had showed 10 million. Again we were told our chances of conceiving naturally were highly unlikely and we should consider IVF. This for us was not an option; it wasn’t something we wanted to do. We realised we may just have to accept we would not have another child and felt very blessed and fortunate that we have our precious girl. However the question we wanted answered was ‘why?’ Why was the sperm count low? And why had it decreased even more over the years? The doctors all seemed to brush off this question when we asked, as being just one of those things. For us it just didn’t seem right though. He was fit and healthy, eats well, barely drinks alcohol – surely there must be a reason!
On searching online my husband came across the Fertility Focus website and decided to contact Juliette for some advice. The only problem was she was in New Zealand and we are in the UK. Turned out this wasn’t a problem at all and Juliette was happy to speak with us on Skype. Obviously it’s a very personal topic to discuss but Juliette was so easy to talk to as well as very understanding and extremely knowledgeable. She seemed to genuinely care about our situation. But most importantly, Juliette confirmed our thoughts – there must be a reason for the significant decline in sperm count. Her suggestion was that my husband may have a varicocele and to check at the doctors. So my husband went for an appointment and he did indeed have a varicocele.
Our feelings on this were mixed. It was a relief to at last have a possible cause for what had happened, but on the other hand we were angry that no-one had suggested this before or even examined him! My husband had surgery to correct the varicocele. Seven months after the procedure his sperm test results showed a significant increase – 14 million (up from 1 million at its lowest!). We were amazed – this is almost within the normal range and the consultant said it should increase even more. So now we will just keep trying, using all the advice which Juliette has given us on conception, in the knowledge that now it really could happen. After several appointments with consultants who gave us no other options other than IVF, it was so refreshing to speak to Juliette about her approach to fertility. We are so grateful for all Juliette’s help to enable us to achieve the diagnosis and increase our chances of conception naturally.
S.A. United Kingdom
Our second ‘Miracle Baby’
We thought our first baby was a ‘miracle baby’ and we were only but hopeful for a second. Here is our story:
After years of trying to have a baby without success we sought some advice and did some tests. We were told by a fertility expert that our chances of conceiving naturally were slim to none and we were put at the front of the queue for fertility treatment. Despite being a healthy young male with no underlying conditions, my husband was diagnosed with very low sperm count coupled with very low motility. Knowing our odds, we pretty much gave up hope and resigned ourselves to the fact that it would be impossible for us to conceive naturally – or so we thought. Just literally days before we were to start fertility treatment I found myself pregnant!
We found ourselves in the same situation again when trying for our second child; we were hopeful but didn’t think our chances were great. After a year of trying (and a lot of disappointments), we made another appointment with the fertility clinic thinking this was our only chance of conceiving again.
At the same time we also decided to visit our GP to discuss the issue. She suggested that we seek help from Fertility Focus as a first step before considering fertility treatment. She thought, to which we agreed, that we should exhaust all other options and seek fertility treatment only as a last resort. We had considered seeking help from Fertility Focus ourselves earlier in the piece – we had looked at the website but didn’t take that next step. We thought that maybe if we kept on trying it might happen again. But a year passed and still nothing. Knowing what we know now, we would have taken that next step sooner, rather than waiting and wasting all that time.
After our first consultation with Juliette we conceived after the first cycle! Unfortunately this wasn’t meant to be. I had a very early miscarriage, but feeling confident we didn’t lose hope. I found myself pregnant again after the third cycle! We think it is just incredible that with the odds stacked against us, we conceived naturally, all thanks to the help, understanding and education Juliette gave us regarding our fertility. The main thing we believe helped, was in planning the best time to conceive by charting our fertility.
I guess the lesson that we learnt and what we would hope others couples would take on board is not to wait. You’ve got nothing to lose and so much to gain from seeking advice from a natural fertility coach. Take that leap of faith and entrust your situation with a professional, like we did. We learned so much and the information we now know is what we will have for life.
Names withheld to protect privacy
