“What? My sperm malformation percentage is so high? Can I still have a baby?” For every couple who goes to the hospital for infertility checkups, semen routine is one of the most basic tests for men, but not every couple understands the significance of the indicators. The reporter recently learned from the hospital that from the end of this year, the routine semen examination in the laboratory of each hospital will be carried out in accordance with the fifth edition of the standardized manual for semen analysis developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), in which the normal values of some indicators have decreased compared to the old version. Experts expect that many men whose sperm quality is currently below normal will “become normal” under the new standards. How to understand this decline in standards? The reporter asked experts to explain. The new version of the semen analysis standard three major changes according to doctors, and 10 years ago the fourth edition of the standardized manual of semen analysis, compared to the fifth edition of the standard changes in three main points: 1, sperm activity grading different in the old version of the standard, A, B, C, D level represent the rapid forward motion under the microscope, slow forward motion, non-forward motion, very slow motion or immobility of the four types of sperm. A grade sperm accounted for more than 25%, or A grade sperm The proportion of A-class sperm is 25% or more, or 50% or more of A-class and B-class sperm combined is normal; while the new version of the standard suggests that fast forward motion and slow forward motion sperm are combined into the same class. The doctor explained that, in fact, as long as the sperm is moving forward, regardless of fast or slow, it has the possibility of conceiving the female partner. Moreover, there is a subjective factor of the examiner present when judging whether the sperm is moving fast or slow through microscopic observation. 2, the total number of sperm fine-tuned according to the old version of the standard, the total number of sperm in an ejaculation in more than 40 million is normal, this indicator in the new version of the standard slightly reduced to 38 million. The new version of the standard eliminates the volume and density indicators and only emphasizes the total number of sperm, “Some patients have low sperm density, but because of the large volume of each ejaculation, the total number of sperm is not small.” 3, the proportion of intact “tadpoles” change in the new version of the standard in the largest decline in indicators, is the proportion of normal form of sperm in all sperm. According to the old standard, the proportion of normal sperm (i.e. complete “tadpoles”) is greater than or equal to 15% as normal; in the new standard, this indicator is normal as long as it reaches 4% or more. The new version of the handbook has indeed reduced the standard of many indicators of male semen quality, experts said. So is the decline in these indicators related to the general decline in sperm quality in human males? For this view, the doctor does not quite agree: “Now many people are saying that the sperm quality of men is declining. In fact, I think it has something to do with the rise in the frequency of people’s sexual life. Statistics show that the average number of sexual intercourse per couple per year in China now reaches 121, ranking fifth in the world, which was unimaginable a few decades ago.” Doctors estimate that according to the fourth edition of the standards, 99% of men who are now examined in outpatient clinics have results below normal, while at least half of them will be able to pass according to the new version of the standards. This is the case, after the implementation of the new standard, will some patients “overnight” from “not meet the standard” to “meet the standard”? The doctor explained that in fact, there is no such thing as “meeting” or “not meeting” the standard for routine semen examination, because theoretically, as long as there is a normal sperm, it is enough for a woman to conceive. People with poor semen quality can only show that they have a lower chance of conceiving their wives naturally. Experts teach the road that sperm quality below normal ≠ infertility. When you get a routine semen report, you should first look at how many sperm are examined in the report. “The first thing you should do is to see how many sperm are in the report. Some irregular medical testing institutions often only check 20 or 30 grains for patients before issuing a report, and the results are not always reliable.” The doctor also reminded that although the indicators in the routine semen examination can indicate the problems of male fertility, but not so important, patients should treat the results correctly, and do not have to “calculate”. For example, when getting a routine semen report, some people focus on the “sperm deformation rate”, once they see their sperm in the normal form of only a few percent, while the proportion of various deformed sperm add up to more than 100%, so they feel very nervous: “Why is my total sperm deformation rate higher than 100%? Is there something wrong with this report?” In fact, sperm deformities are divided into head, body and tail deformities, and some sperm are deformed in more than one place, thus causing the total percentage of head, body and tail deformed sperm to add up to more than 100%. The doctor reminded that a lower than normal sperm quality is not the same as infertility, once a life, there are generally 200 million sperm into the female vagina, most of those with deformities have been eliminated in the process, and eventually only one sperm can combine with the egg to form a fertilized egg. Therefore, a low sperm count only means that men have a lower chance of conceiving their wives and may have to “struggle” for more time or use some medical means to make their big plans a success. Expert opinion on whether lower standards are good or bad? Experts believe that the lowering of sperm quality standards may still have an impact on patients, and that the impact is mainly psychological. Doctors estimate that more patients will find their sperm quality above the standard under the new version of the standard, which can make them “feel good” and facilitate the “big family planning”, “There are reports from abroad that show that patients in the hospital This is because the hospital laboratory environment can make patients feel uncomfortable, indicating that psychological factors can affect the quality of male sperm.” Doctors are concerned that with the lowered standards, some men who did not think the “problem” was theirs may be persuaded by family members and doctors to come in for a test and find, after seeing the results, that “my sperm is still of good quality! As a result, they are more reluctant to cooperate with infertility tests and put all the “blame” on their wives.