Sperm antibodies are becoming more common. 20% of all cases of infertility are due to mutual infertility, and 20% due to unexplained infertility. Combined, that’s nearly half of all the cases of infertility!
If the woman is ovulating, doesn’t have blocked tubes, hormonal imbalances or other reproductive system conditions, and, the man has normal sperm parameters, what’s the problem?
Why can’t they get pregnant?
1. Presence of sperm antibodies
2. Toxic mucus
3. Food intolerances
The first test you should consider is a post-coital test. This test will show how many sperm are still alive after intercourse in the woman’s reproductive system.
If the woman has sperm antibodies in her mucus, or has overly acidic mucus due to toxin overload in the body then the sperm will not fare well and their minutes (not days) will be numbered.
Channels of elimination
You see, your body will rely on all possible channels of elimination when it comes to getting rid of toxins. They are mostly mucus and discharge producing organs such as the nose, lungs, skin, kidneys, gut, vagina and penis.
This is where detoxing comes into the picture. Each couple, regardless of whether you are infertile or not should consider detoxing before conception.
Heavy metals exposure has a detrimental impact on the immune system, especially on autoantibody production which can lead to infertility in susceptible individuals. One study found that patients with mercury allergy had more antisperm antibodies than patients without the mercury allergy. (Neuro. Endicronol. Lett. 2005)
Food intolerances and sperm antibodies
If the immune system is in overdrive (due to constant exposure to food you are intolerant to) it can adversely react to your partner’s sperm and /or fertilized egg and destroy it. This can lead to creation of antibodies to your partner’s sperm and can predispose you to miscarriages and still births.
In the case of food intolerances you will not necessarily know you’ve got one until you do a proper blood test or you simply eliminate the food from your diet and wait to see if the symptoms go away. It can take up to 3 months for the immunocomplexes (antibody and antigen sticking together) to clear from your system.
Our body is one closed circuit. Everything that enters your body: through air that you breathe, food and drinks you consume or lotions and potions you rub on your skin will affect every single cell in your body! It all ends up in your blood. Your blood carries it though kilometers of blood vessels from the biggest aorta to the tiniest capillaries barely visible to the eye. Just think about that, for a second.
And the next time you want to consume something you know is not healthy just remember the closed circuit and know that it won’t just come out without leaving any damage behind.
Sperm Antibodies in the mucus
If the woman’s mucus contains sperm antibodies, more than just a detox is required. Studies have shown that women can develop antisperm antibodies if sperm has come into contact with the mucosal or systemic immune system. This can happen if there are minor wounds in the vagina, rectum or the oral cavity. Sperm antibodies in cervical mucus cause the heads of the sperm to stick to the cervical mucus.
To treat sperm antibodies in the mucus you’ll need to use condoms for 3-6 months while the woman’s immune system is addressed with diet, nutritional supplements, herbs and other complementary medicine treatments as required.
During the 3-6 month period, because the woman didn’t come into contact with the sperm, the present antibodies to sperm will be broken down and no new ones will be produced.
This is also a very beneficial time to learn about timing your most fertile days!
Then you remove the condom and have intercourse at the most fertile time to conceive. This will not allow enough time for your body to produce new antibodies. Also after having your immune system treated and retrained during those 3-6 months it is likely that your immune system would not react again.
If the woman has sperm antibodies in her blood and not just the mucus, than just relying on the condom will not be enough and a longer immune system treatment may be required.
Men can have sperm auto antibodies
Autoimmunity results from the abnormal immune response against the body’s own tissue. Men can develop antibodies against their own sperm. This can cause the sperm to agglutinate (or stick together) or cause the tails of the sperm to stick to the cervical mucus.
Autoimmunity of any kind often derives from childhood or even earlier development in the womb. If the mother was consuming foods she was intolerant to during her pregnancy, then her antibodies influenced what type of immune system dominance the child will have.
The immune system is fascinating in that it needs to learn the ropes. Unlike the other cells in the body it intimately interacts with our environment everyday.
If you have an inflamed gut, due to a bacterial or parasitic infection or as a result of food intolerance, large molecules from food will enter the sterile environment behind the gut, through the gaps between the cells. Once they are in the area of the body they are not meant to be in, the immune system will pick them up and treat them as invading pathogens. Now that the immune system has been exposed to this substance once, it’ll produce a whole army of antibodies against this food. So now each time you eat this food, they’ll attack. Overtime this will exhaust the immune reserve, making it less robust when it comes to bacteria, viruses and cancers and more hypersensitive to its own tissue and innocuous substances such as pollen and food.
This starts a viscous cycle if the food intolerance is not picked up upon and treated naturopathically.
If as a child you were not breastfed, than you may have missed out on your mother’s antibodies and this may have predisposed you to an immune system that is overly reactive. If, on the other hand you mother has many allergies, then you can consider yourself lucky for not having been breastfed.
Also if you grew up in a super clean and sterile environment, your immune system didn’t have any bugs to learn from. Some childhood diseases and contact with dirt as a kid are very beneficial for the immune system. They teach your immune system what sort of antibodies it should be producing, so it’s less likely to attack food molecules or your own tissue.
The good news is that the immune system can be retrained in three easy steps;
1. Remove the triggers for 3-6 months or longer, depending on the severity.
2. Heal the inflammation and the mucosal surfaces, with the right nutrients and diet.
3. Treat the immune system with adequate protein intake, a clean and pure diet, nutritional supplements, probiotics and herbs. Key nutrients to consider are vitamin C, zinc, selenium, vitamins E and A (or betacarotene), omega 3, and herbs such as Panax ginseng, Echinacea, Hemidesmus, Astragalus, Withania and Saw palmetto.
In this article we looked the causes of sperm antibodies and touched on unexplained infertility as it relates to food intolerances. There are plenty of other environmental influences that can contribute to unexplained infertility. Natural fertility treatment for sperm antibodies consists of abstinence from the triggers, dietary and lifestyle adjustments and nutritional and herbal support for the immune system. Once you truly grasp the interconnectedness of all body systems you’ll understand why and how what you eat, drink and breathe can make all the difference to your fertility.
Could sperm antibodies be affecting your ability to conceive? Have considered testing for sperm antibodies? Share your thoughts!
© 2011 Iva Keene and Natural Fertility Prescription
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You may be interested to learn that we have male auto-immune antibodies (among other factors). We have seen a reduction in antibodies from 80% to 20% by starting the following:
1) acupuncture for the male once a week;
2) male pre-natal conception vitamin;
3) introducing anti oxidants – eg pycnogenol; alpha lipoic acid, COQ10.
We had a natural pregnancy after two to three months of these changes. Sadly it ended in miscarriage at week 9/10 but there was fertilisation and development of a fetus.
RE felt the reduction may have been a lab error but it is now harder to maintain that line as there was a positive preganancy.
Hi Antonia,
Thanks for your comment. I’m sorry to hear about your miscarriage. The nutrients you used are great and I’m sure they’ve contributed to your pregnancy. However there is more to this picture, such as food intolerances and heavy metals. These require an elimination diet and chelation therapy if the test are positive. You should keep up with your great work and for more info on how to treat antibodies naturally go here: http://ht.ly/1ZQKi
If you’d like me to help you with your case and have a look at your lab results just email me at iva@natural-fertility-prescription.com
Warmest regards,
Iva
I am currently 35 years old & my husband is 42 & have been married a little over 3 years. We want to have 2 BIOLOGICAL children. I have had some health issues over the last couple of years that has involuntarily forced me to put my plans to have children on hold. I admit that I haven’t always eaten the best diet & ate a lot of food that was not good for me. I also am somewhat lactose intolerant but love dairy. I am willing to cut out dairy to a degree but is it OK for me to have some milk with whole grain high fiber cereal? I’m also discontinuing coffee. I’ve drank coffee with milk & flavorings for 17 years. More cups & artificial sweetners when I was younger. I’ve since toned it down to one cup for the last 8 years. Occasionally, I have more than one never more than 2. I have life long hereditary IBS stemming from my maternal side of the family. I am trying to encourage my husband to use the microwave & bad foods less. He’s trying to loose some weight & is eating weight watchers foods. We have “tried to conceive” for the last 6 months by having sex @ the appropriate times but no luck. All 6 of my ovulation tests came back positive. We have recently been to see a fertility specialist in Westchester, NY associated with Cornell Weil Medical Center. All of my blood & hormonal tests, as well as my husband’s sperm analysis all came back normal. I’ve been told by several GYNs & docs I am thankfully no where near menopause. We were diagnosed much to my disappointment with unexplained infertility. I don’t believe in that b/c there is ALWAYS a reason or reasons why. I had transvaginal exams & an impromptu saline HSG. My doc told me that she was sure I had one open tube but not 100% about the other. Basically the test was inconclusive. I mentioned my concerns about hormonal disruption & soy intake for both me & my husband but was basically dismissed. I’ve tried to eliminate as many toxic chemicals as possible but it’s pretty much impossible to eliminate ALL of them. I’ve worn cosmetics for more than 20 years & am horrified that they could be causing my infertility. While I can switch to some more natural cosmetics, they are very hard to find so in turn I am wearing less make up; I can’t give it up altogether. I don’t know what to wash my face, body AND hair with either b/c everything seems to have harmful ingredients. People, like stars & actresses who use these items still seem to have children though…My doc mentioned possible endometriosis. I don’t exhibit any of the classic warning symptoms & NO pain during sex EVER! My doc wanted me to take Clomid & wants us to do an IUI. Luckily I did not feel well & wasn’t able to take the Clomid. I feel as if I’m being pushed into the IUI & into IVF & my gut feeling is that my problem does NOT require IVF. I want more tests to be run b/c I do not want to submit to these high tech procedures when she does not know what my exact problem is. I really DON’T WANT to go thru IVF if I don’t have to. I have Dr. Sami David’s book & would love to consult with him but sadly I am limited economically & am limited to those specialists who take my insurance. I do not feel that I should have to give up trying to have my OWN children naturally. What would you recommend for someone in my position?
Hi Diane,
Thanks for your message.
You are absolutely right, ‘unexplained infertility’ always has a cause which is not detectable with the standard tests.
First off, if you are lactose intolerant, no amount of milk is ‘ok’ in any shape or form. Your body can’t break down lactose in milk and so each time you ingest it, your immune system activates. This is not ideal when you are trying to conceive. An overreactive immune system can damage the sperm and the embryo. The reason why you would find it hard to give up dairy is because dairy is addictive – literally. Milk contains natural form of morphine. It’s in the milk so that the calf would associate pleasure with feeding and would come back for more in order to survive. You can read more about it here: http://www.natural-fertility-prescription.com/eating-dairy-infertile/
In addition high dairy consumption has been linked to PCOS and endometriosis. This is due to high levels of estrogen found in cow’s milk. Dairy is also mucus forming and can contribute to blocked fallopian tubes. Therefore you should give it up and use some of the healthy milk alternatives out there such as calcium enriched organic whole grain rice milk. It takes 3-6 months for immunocomplexes to clear out of your blood stream, so the sooner you start avoiding dairy the better. And don’t worry about missing dairy. It takes 21 days to overcome the addiction. After going 21 days dairy free, milk will not cross you mind again.
Also given that you have IBS you really should avoid dairy.
Soy is bad news if you can’t conceive. It’s best avoided (if you can’t get pregnant) as it can interfere with your thyroid function, due to it’s goitrogen content. Subclinical hypothyroidism often plays a role in unexplained infertility.
Often times it’s things like heavy metal toxicity, allergies, metabolic imbalances, food intolerances and infections that contribute to ‘unexplained infertility’.
My suggestion is to explore the possible causes of your infertility before you opt for IVF and fertility drugs. You can always come back to these options if all else fails. Ideally you should optimize you and your husband’s egg and sperm health for 120 days and address the underlying cause. The NFP program walks you through the tests and possible causes and how to treat them naturally.
With it you will also receive a complimentary fertility analysis and a supplement prescription for you and your husband. Once I know more about your case including the health issues you mentioned in the email, I will be able to taylor the NFP program to your individual needs and help you identify and treat the cause with natural and inexpensive means – the way nature intended it.
You can find good quality safe cosmetics here: http://ivakeene.mionegroup.com/en/home
Other good brands include Dr. Hauschka and Lavera.
I hope this helps, let me know if you need more information. For more info about the NFP program click here
Warmest regards,
Iva
P.S. coffee, microwaving food, artificial flavorings, food additives and artificial sweeteners should be avoided at all cost for at least 120 days before conception. Happy to speak to your husband if he doesn’t want to give up microwaving! You can find out more about it here: http://www.natural-fertility-prescription.com/microwave-oven-safe-fertility/