bad morphology=birth defects?

hopefulfirefly · 04-04-2009, 08:43 PM

Is there a link to poor morphology & birth defects or miscarriage?

Dh has low morphology, is there a way we can check to see if its a chromosonal defect? How much does that cost? Thanks!

bebehope · 04-05-2009, 11:47 AM

There is a way to check. He can ask for DNA testing through a urologist. In our case, the insurance covered it partially. If I remember correctly, the test was $2000 but there was some kind of deal where if you paid $400 up front and your insurance wouldn't cover all of the rest, all you would pay was $400. Well, we knew our insurance wouldn't cover the whole thing, so that's all we paid. My DH has 2% morphology and normal DNA.
I don't know of any link to miscarriage just on morphology, since the abnormal swimmers don't usually fertilize eggs. However, if there is a genetic problem, then my understanding is that yes, there is an increased risk of miscarriage and birth defects.
Good luck.

hopefulfirefly · 04-05-2009, 11:53 AM

Thank you, we will talk to our urologist about having DNA testing done.

CJ71903 · 04-06-2009, 09:01 AM

We actually asked my husband's urologist if low morphology causes birth defects and he said absolutely not. I'm not sure about chromosomal defects. My husband's urologist also ordered a DNA Fragmentation test which cost us about $160 (normally $400) through ReproSource. The jury is still out on these sorts of tests, but our urologist thinks it helps to determine if you could be successful with natural conception or IUI or if IVF is the best option.

Has your husband had a physical exam by a urologist yet to check for a varicocele, etc.? We found out that my husband had a varicocele and he just had surgery to fix it last Tuesday. So, there could be a cause for your husband's low morphology that they can try to fix. There are never any guarantees, but it's probably worth a shot.

hopefulfirefly · 04-06-2009, 02:04 PM

Yes, we don't have a varicocele. We have an appointment April 20th so I will be asking this question when we go. I thought poor morphology meant the DNA automatically was not normal & the question is if the DNA is also abnormal in the "normal" looking sperm.

CJ71903 · 04-06-2009, 06:40 PM

Just because the morphology is low, does not mean that the DNA will be abnormally fragmented. My husband had 0% Strict Krueger morphology, but only 7% DNA Fragmentation which means the amount of DNA Fragmentation in his sperm is normal (under 30% is normal). Do you know your husband's counts (i.e. sperm count, motility, morphology)?

bebehope · 04-06-2009, 09:02 PM

Our urologist said that even if the tests didn't show any DNA abnormalities, that there is probably something genetic causing this but we just don't have the technology or know enough about the genetics of male infertility to know what it is. How comforting! He recommended IVF with ICSI.
Our IVF RE said that there is a chance with ICSI that we can pass along male infertilty to our male offspring. I imagine in 30 years they will know more about this, so hopefully it won't be a big issue then!

CJ71903 · 04-07-2009, 08:03 AM

I'm not sure about chromosomal abnormalities. Hopefully your next appointment can at least give you some reassurance.

hopefulfirefly · 04-07-2009, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJ71903

Just because the morphology is low, does not mean that the DNA will be abnormally fragmented. My husband had 0% Strict Krueger morphology, but only 7% DNA Fragmentation which means the amount of DNA Fragmentation in his sperm is normal (under 30% is normal). Do you know your husband's counts (i.e. sperm count, motility, morphology)?

Count=9.1 million
Motility=17% rapid
Morphology=40%

The morphology is actually normal in the latest SA but was only 8% in a previous SA. We just did another SA last night & I will have those results Thursday. Our urologist mentioned last week that he needs to counsel us that using sperm with bad morphology could lead to birth defects. I had heard the opposite before, that there is no correlation. We are going to see a different urologist this time, the #1 IF urologist in the state...so I will trust his word more than this other guy.

babyhopes4us · 06-09-2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hopefulfirefly

Count=9.1 million
Motility=17% rapid
Morphology=40%

The morphology is actually normal in the latest SA but was only 8% in a previous SA. We just did another SA last night & I will have those results Thursday. Our urologist mentioned last week that he needs to counsel us that using sperm with bad morphology could lead to birth defects. I had heard the opposite before, that there is no correlation. We are going to see a different urologist this time, the #1 IF urologist in the state...so I will trust his word more than this other guy.

Hi there!
I am so glad you posted this! My husband is going to the urologist next week and I have soooo many questions! This thread really helped me with my list

I was told with our first and only SA are only choice would be IVF

But that was just my OBGYN who I am NOT impressed with, but I am afraid she is correct on this one

Keep us posted on what the new urologist says because I have read different things about the morphology and birth defects. My DH has 17% Morph. and 16% Motility.

Best of luck with your new Doctor!!!!

04-04-2009, 08:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
hopefulfirefly 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 21	bad morphology=birth defects? Is there a link to poor morphology & birth defects or miscarriage? Dh has low morphology, is there a way we can check to see if its a chromosonal defect? How much does that cost? Thanks!

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04-05-2009, 11:47 AM	#2 (permalink)
bebehope 800-899 post 10 of hearts Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: California Posts: 823	There is a way to check. He can ask for DNA testing through a urologist. In our case, the insurance covered it partially. If I remember correctly, the test was $2000 but there was some kind of deal where if you paid $400 up front and your insurance wouldn't cover all of the rest, all you would pay was $400. Well, we knew our insurance wouldn't cover the whole thing, so that's all we paid. My DH has 2% morphology and normal DNA. I don't know of any link to miscarriage just on morphology, since the abnormal swimmers don't usually fertilize eggs. However, if there is a genetic problem, then my understanding is that yes, there is an increased risk of miscarriage and birth defects. Good luck.

04-05-2009, 11:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
hopefulfirefly 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 21	Thank you, we will talk to our urologist about having DNA testing done.

04-06-2009, 09:01 AM	#4 (permalink)
CJ71903 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: USA Posts: 35	We actually asked my husband's urologist if low morphology causes birth defects and he said absolutely not. I'm not sure about chromosomal defects. My husband's urologist also ordered a DNA Fragmentation test which cost us about $160 (normally $400) through ReproSource. The jury is still out on these sorts of tests, but our urologist thinks it helps to determine if you could be successful with natural conception or IUI or if IVF is the best option. Has your husband had a physical exam by a urologist yet to check for a varicocele, etc.? We found out that my husband had a varicocele and he just had surgery to fix it last Tuesday. So, there could be a cause for your husband's low morphology that they can try to fix. There are never any guarantees, but it's probably worth a shot.

04-06-2009, 02:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
hopefulfirefly 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 21	Yes, we don't have a varicocele. We have an appointment April 20th so I will be asking this question when we go. I thought poor morphology meant the DNA automatically was not normal & the question is if the DNA is also abnormal in the "normal" looking sperm.

04-06-2009, 06:40 PM	#6 (permalink)
CJ71903 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: USA Posts: 35	Just because the morphology is low, does not mean that the DNA will be abnormally fragmented. My husband had 0% Strict Krueger morphology, but only 7% DNA Fragmentation which means the amount of DNA Fragmentation in his sperm is normal (under 30% is normal). Do you know your husband's counts (i.e. sperm count, motility, morphology)?

04-06-2009, 09:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
bebehope 800-899 post 10 of hearts Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: California Posts: 823	Our urologist said that even if the tests didn't show any DNA abnormalities, that there is probably something genetic causing this but we just don't have the technology or know enough about the genetics of male infertility to know what it is. How comforting! He recommended IVF with ICSI. Our IVF RE said that there is a chance with ICSI that we can pass along male infertilty to our male offspring. I imagine in 30 years they will know more about this, so hopefully it won't be a big issue then!

04-07-2009, 08:03 AM	#8 (permalink)
CJ71903 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: USA Posts: 35	I'm not sure about chromosomal abnormalities. Hopefully your next appointment can at least give you some reassurance.