Overcoming infertility

Dr Jenny Goodman helps a couple have a child by correcting a factor many people don't suspect-lowquality sperm due to nutritional deficiencies

- Dr Jenny Goodman

Alina and Max came to see me together, fairly distraught. They were both age 39 and had been trying to have a child for the last seven years. They had conceived twice during that time, but each time Alina had miscarried at 10 weeks. They didn’t know the cause of the miscarriages; the NHS will not investigate until it has happened three times.

Alina had, however, been through all the gynecological investigations: ultrasound scans showed a healthy womb lining, hormone tests were normal and laparoscopic surgery confirmed everything was fine anatomically. Her periods were regular. The general practitioner told her there was nothing wrong and suggested that she “just relax” and it would happen. Her reply is unprintable.

Max had not had a sperm test until two years previously—when they’d already been trying unsuccessfully for a full five years. That test had been “borderline,” meaning a few sperm were normal and could swim. This, he was told, was all right because “it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg.” I wondered, however, about the quality of those sperm. Sperm counts are falling worldwide, in animals as well as in humans; Max was not alone.

I asked Max to do a repeat sperm test, as sperm counts can change rapidly. I then had them both complete a one-week diet diary and take blood tests for all the nutrients that are vital for healthy conception and full-term pregnancy: the B vitamins; vitamin D; vitamin E; the minerals zinc, iron, selenium, iodine and magnesium; and the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6.