How often should a man release sperm to get pregnant?

Any successful pregnancy starts with two key ingredients: a sperm and an egg. Fertility problems can originate with either the mother's egg or the father's sperm meaning both components need to be healthy in order to have a successful pregnancy.

Sperm is released in the semen when a man ejaculates. But exactly how much semen does it take to get pregnant? In this blog post, we cover how much semen is needed to fertilize an egg, and how you can boost your sperm count naturally.

Understanding the composition and role of sperm

Men release sperm cells during the process of ejaculation. The fluid released is called semen, and is made up of sperm cells suspended in seminal fluid. Seminal fluid contains many nutrients that support the lives of sperm cells, including large amounts of fructose.

Pregnancy occurs after ejaculation when sperm from the semen travels through the cervix into the uterus. When a mature sperm joins with an egg, fertilization occurs and an embryo is created. The embryo then implants itself in the uterine lining, resulting in pregnancy.

Sperm can survive in the uterus for several days, but an egg survives for only 12 to 24 hours. Therefore, it's important to time sex with your partner's fertile window if you are trying to conceive (TTC).

In order to get your partner pregnant, sperm need to be healthy and strong enough to survive in the vagina, travel to the uterus, and fertilize an egg. The more healthy sperm contained in your semen, the more likely it is that one of these sperm will make it to the uterus successfully.

A common obstacle to fertility is low sperm count or low semen volume. Other sperm abnormalities that can cause infertility include problems with movement (motility) and high numbers of immature, unformed sperm.

How much sperm is needed to fertilize an egg?

Only one sperm needs to survive in order to fertilize an egg. However, the journey from the man's testicle to the woman's uterus is long and arduous.

After ejaculation, a single sperm cell measuring only 0.5 mm needs to swim over 152 mm from the base of the cervix to the egg for fertilization. Not every sperm is up to the task.

Even though only one sperm is needed for fertilization, most sperm cells will not survive the journey from the testicle to the uterus. Of the 200 million sperm deposited near the cervix in an average ejaculation, only 100,000 make it to the womb.

For this reason, it's important to have a healthy sperm count when TTC. You should at least meet a minimum threshold of sperm per ejaculation for optimal fertility.