Male Fertility Testing

[cjellis27]

Hello-
My husband and I are trying to conceive our first child. So far, we have not been successful and we are now considering fertility testing. I know that my husband will need to have his sperm tested, so I searched on the “Ask an Apologist” thread and found this related paragraph.

Interestingly enough, though, the answer to the question, “Can contraceptive devices EVER be used licitly?” is “Yes.” If the contraceptive device is not being used as contraception, it may well be perfectly fine to use it. One example of this would be the perforated condom prescribed to couples undergoing licit fertility treatments so that a sperm count may be done. The condom captures some sperm for testing purposes while allowing other sperm to pass through, which means that neither the procreative or unitive aspects of the marital act are frustrated.

Has anyone used this method? Is it something you need to ask for or would an OB/GYN suggest it? Any information you might have would be very much appreciated.

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[Iowander]

I had some friends who did this. They had a Catholic OB/GYN who specialized in NFP, and he gave them some, and they just brought the sample to the lab themselves. I bet you could ask a regular OB/GYN for one.

 

[kevinsgirl]

We did it as well. I suggest talking to your OB/GYN and getting them to order a semen analysis. You can then call the lab and request that you use the condom collection method. Ours had certain condoms they wanted you to use and weren’t too happy about us wanting to do it that way. I simply mentioned “religious reasons” and they backed off. Don’t forget to poke a hole or two in the condom…

HTH!

KG

 

[Lutheranteach]

THe accuracy of the readings, etc. will not be as accurate, but you will get a good idea of what is going on using this method.

 

[Ljrm18]

My husband and I used this method as well. We got a normal condom and punched a hole in it. Well, he punched one. I put a couple more just to make sure we weren’t hampering any chances. But I think that the results were fairly accurate, or at least enough to give us an idea of what we’re dealing with.

 

[Dj87]

Well this topic is very near and dear to me. The problem with this collection method would be if the sperm count is too low. I have a very, very rare condition in which I produced no sperm and through expensive, daily injections for three years, I was able to father a wonderful son. Now at the height of this testing I was a fallen away Catholic and therefore not that concerned about semen analysis collection as I should have been which I did however have done monthly at our Catholic hospital. There are special condoms for collection but they can skew the results. Most all “over the counter” condoms have spermicide in them which will mess up the results the initial part of the collection contains the highest concentration of sperm and with a puntured condom, I would think millions of sperm would be lost. Probably not an issue if the sperm count is normal in the 100-300 million range. 60 million is considered sub fertile and 40 million or less is considered infertile. So the lower the count the more of an effect loss of a few million sperm could be.

The other thing to remember is that during natural intercourse, sperm is excreted in very potent levels so it isn’t only at the time of ejaculation that a pregnancy could occur.

Although I was at one time considered sterile and my wife had PCOS we were able to conceive naturally with the help on my daily injections and it was a marvelous experience.