The unknown is often never seen

I don’t wish Infertility anyone; however, I’ve often wondered to myself “Does she know how lucky she is? She has stopped BCP x times and has x kids to show for it!? Does she realize for many women it’s not that easy?” OR “She ovulates late, on day 40 or so, but does she realize how lucky she is to OVULATE, period!?” These thoughts go through my mind often, so as the events of Friday afternoon occurred I stepped back and really thought about all of the couples who deal with male factor infertility (MFI).

DH went in for his SA on Friday. I’m already extremely grateful for having this done at no charge (A $75 savings!) due to the research study; however, after receiving the results I realize there is no value that could be placed on the results! All of his results were within normal ranges or above normal ranges with the exception of his “Progressive Motility”. According to the Lab Technician, DH spoke to, advised his results were below average meaning his “Fast Swimmers” aren’t as fast as they’d like. So I’m assuming his means they are all the same speed? :) Ok, his swimmers prefer to be fair!? Fair enough! :)

I’m not positive. I called the nurse to find out exactly what this meant and to see if it would disqualify us from participating in the study. I look forward to hearing back from her tomorrow. On the other hand, his Sperm Concentration, Motility, and Total Sperm in Sample were all above average, so again, according to the lab tech, she felt the lack of Progressive Motility was compensated by these above average numbers. I hope she is right!

Despite the “abnormal” finding, I’m extremely grateful for the results of his SA! According to WebMD, up to half of all cases of infertility involve problems with the man. In fact, about 20 – 30% of the time, a man’s low fertility is the main obstacle to conception. I realize there are treatments for male infertility; however, many of the couples I know who are dealing with MFI are using donor sperm. I can’t imagine how incredibly hard it is to have to learn of the results, deal with the results, and make the decision to use donor sperm, which as I understand it is looking through pages and pages of profiles. I cannot imagine knowing my child isn’t biologically from my husband, rather from a donor. Am I being ignorant? DH and I are not dealing with MFI personally; however, we do realize how grateful we are to receive these results.