Some miscarriages, related to men: Mr. Liu’s wife miscarried when she was two months pregnant, and the couple came to the fertility center for a consultation. When the doctor asked Liu to check his semen, Liu was reluctant, believing that miscarriage was a woman’s problem and had nothing to do with men. The semen test results revealed that Liu’s sperm DNA fragmentation rate was as high as 60 percent. Can bad sperm cause miscarriage? The doctor told Mr. Liu that the high sperm DNA fragmentation rate could be the culprit of his wife’s miscarriage. A high sperm DNA fragmentation rate is like the yolk of an egg falling apart, which looks like good sperm but has internal quality problems, which can lead to poor embryo quality and easy miscarriage. Therefore, miscarriage is not only a woman’s business, but also a man’s bad sperm can lead to miscarriage. The DNA is located in the nucleus of the sperm and is the carrier of genetic information, similar to the yolk of an egg. Damage to sperm DNA may appear to be “good”, but it is less functional, and although it does not affect egg fertilization, it can lead to embryo failure and miscarriage. In patients with severe sperm DNA damage, even though the egg can be fertilized and divide normally, it can still lead to miscarriage. Three types of men, who should be tested for sperm DNA fragmentation rate: Traditional routine semen examination can reflect semen quality in terms of sperm concentration and sperm vitality, but its value in evaluating sperm function is limited and cannot directly reflect sperm fertilization ability and impact on embryo development. Studies have shown that the rate of sperm DNA fragmentation in patients with infertility is significantly higher than that in normal subjects. Even if the other indicators of semen are normal, it does not mean that the sperm DNA fragmentation rate is normal. There are many patients with normal results of routine semen analysis who were previously diagnosed with unexplained infertility and now have been tested and found to have a high sperm DNA fragmentation rate and have been given a chance to have children after targeted treatment. Therefore, testing for sperm DNA fragmentation rate is very important for infertile patients. Especially for infertile patients who are ready to use the expensive IVF technique, sperm DNA fragmentation is especially important because studies have shown a strong correlation with IVF success rates. First generation IVF technology (IVF) requires fully functional sperm for successful fertilization, and a high sperm DNA fragmentation rate may result in reduced sperm fertilization and failure to fertilize the egg. The second generation IVF technique (ICSI) can inject sperm directly into the egg, and it is possible for DNA damaged sperm to fertilize the egg and develop into an embryo. However, DNA-damaged sperm can lead to poor quality embryos after fertilization, resulting in serious disruptions in embryo development, which can lead to failure of implantation into the uterus and defective embryo development, ultimately leading to miscarriage. Therefore, testing for sperm DNA fragmentation rate is recommended for male patients whose spouses have a history of spontaneous miscarriage, patients with unexplained infertility, and patients preparing for IVF, all three categories of men. Men who want to undergo eugenic screening before pregnancy can also have their sperm DNA fragmentation rate tested for early detection of problems and early treatment. Currently, several large fertility centers, including the Reproductive Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, already have sperm DNA fragmentation rate testing programs. Fragmentation rate can be reduced: Bad lifestyle habits such as smoking, drug abuse, alcoholism and staying up late, long-term exposure to polluted air, high heat, toxic and radioactive work environment, infections and inflammation of reproductive glands (epididymitis, orchitis, prostatitis or seminal vesiculitis, etc.), leukocytosis in semen, varicocele and other diseases are all harmful factors that lead to higher sperm DNA fragmentation rate. The first step should be to correct bad habits (smoking, drug abuse, alcoholism and staying up late), regulate work stress and improve sleep quality; avoid long-term exposure to harmful environments such as high temperatures, polluted air, toxic substances and radiation exposure. Then, under the guidance of a professional male physician, treatment of related physical diseases, such as antibiotics for reproductive gland infections and inflammation, surgery for varicocele, herbal or Chinese medicines, medications such as vitamin E and vitamin C and some micronutrient supplementation treatments, also help to reduce the rate of sperm DNA fragmentation. These treatments, help patients succeed in having a healthy baby.