If you’re looking forward to having a family one day, you might be concerned about your fertility. There are many different things that can affect your ability to get pregnant if you’re a woman, just as there are things to consider for men when it comes to sperm health. The quality of men’s swimmers count, and if you want to make sure yours (or your male partner’s) are in tip-top shape, fertility specialist Dr. Natalie Crawford has shared her tips for making it happen.
@nataliecrawfordmd
- Dr. Crawford took to TikTok to share her tips. At the time of writing, she has more than 3.3 million views from people desperate to know how to keep sperm in good condition. The Austin, Texas-based doctor revealed her list of five things she would never have her partner do if they were planning to have a baby.
- Men have to quit smoking — yes, even weed. Not only is this terrible for your overall health and potentially dangerous, it’s also not great when you’re trying to start a family. “Smoking cigarettes is absolutely terrible for your sperm,” she said. She added that it’s not just cigarettes that are to blame — marijuana is just as bad. “This one I know is controversial, but it decreases both the production of sperm from the brain impact, as well as the shape of the sperm,” she insisted.
- They should put their laptops on a desk or table. You wouldn’t think it, but having a warm machine sitting on your crotch is a major sperm-killer. Crawford said the heat could cause abnormally-shaped swimmers, so men are better off putting their laptops on another surface.
- Men should also cut out processed meat. Things like bacon, sausages, and lunchmeats aren’t all that great for you from a carcinogenic standpoint, but they’re also not great for sperm. Dr. Crawford said cutting those out of the diet is more likely to encourage the healthy production of sperm.
- Steroids are obviously a no-no. Crawford advised men against taking testosterone or anabolic steroids if they want to be fathers. “Testosterone is essentially birth control pills for men,” she explained. “So many people will put men on testosterone to help with their fatigue or low-T [testosterone], but it kills your sperm. You’ll have no sperm for months or even years after T use.”
- Many people were skeptical about her advice. As one commenter pointed out, she never had that problem. “My fiancé does almost all of that. And here I am. Pregnant,” one woman wrote. Another added: “Mine did 4 out of 5 of these. Pregnant first month we were trying.” However, it seems they were missing the point. Just because their experience was different doesn’t mean it’s not true for others. And hey, even if you’re not trying to conceive, these fertility tips double as pretty good advice from a health standpoint too!
