Relation between semen quality and fate of pregnancy: retrospective study on 534 pregnancies

Full semen analysis including sperm and seminal plasma (SP) was performed on 534 men, within 3 months of their wives conception, 65% of the pregnant wives eventually delivered, while the remainder aborted. The abortions were divided into five groups: early abortion (6%), late abortion (3%), repeated abortion (14%), and habitual abortion (12%). SP quality of the husbands of the various groups were identical. The motility and vitality of spermatozoa of the various groups were in the same range. Sperm concentration was significantly higher in the repeated and habitual abortion groups with a tendency to polyzoospermia. The morphology of spermatozoa was much better in these two groups. Generally, sperm quality of the men whose wives were repeated or habitual aborters was better than in the other groups. We could not find any evidence in the routine semen analysis indicating that sperm quality was responsible for the abortions. The reason for the abortions seems to be a female factor or chromosomal aberrations.