Whenever science endorses increased sexual activity, it is generally welcomed as good news. But when the issue is fertility treatments and the results challenge current medical wisdom, it is also important news.
And indeed, new research by Israeli fertility experts has challenged current medical opinion, which holds that refraining from sex for up to a week is beneficial for men prior to undergoing some types of fertility treatment.
They examined over 7, semen samples for volume, concentration, and shape, and the percentage and total count of motile active and moving sperm. The samples were taken from around 6, men being investigated or treated for infertility who had abstained from sex for periods up to two weeks. More than 4, samples had normal sperm counts, while the remainder had varying degrees of reduced counts ranging from mild to severe.
The researchers found that while the volume of semen increased after 11 to 14 days of abstinence, whatever the sperm count was, the morphology shape and form of the sperm gradually deteriorated.
In the samples from men with reduced sperm counts, the proportion of motile sperm actually fell significantly from day two onward, reaching a low at day six and remaining low. He was referring to the World Health Organization guidelines recommending sexual abstinence for two to seven days prior to treatment. Levitas told the conference that there is no real agreement among fertility researchers as to why sperm gets damaged and becomes less viable over time.
