What it is: A test of the sperm in an individual’s ejaculate. The semen analysis tells us the concentration of sperm, how many are moving, how fast they are moving forward, and how many have a normal appearance.
How it helps: Just because an individual’s ejaculate appears normal does not mean they are fertile. 30–40% of infertility cases are caused by problems with semen. Fertile sperm-producing persons typically have over 20 million swimming (“motile”) sperm per ejaculate. Abnormal semen analysis results may lead us to different types of treatments, either to improve the motile sperm count or to optimize their performance by Intrauterine insemination (IUI) or Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).