It’s genetic! Having a large family is in your genes
Study finds men from larger families tend to have better quality sperm.
For each additional child in a family, the descendent’s sperm count increased by 1.8 million.
It’s genetic! Having a large family is in your genes
Researchers at the University of Utah discovered that men whose ancestors had more children have a higher rate of healthy moving sperm.
Comparing the men’s sperm with the number of children in nine generations researchers found that for every extra child in the family’s history the subject’s sperm count increased by 1.8million.
Speaking at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s annual meeting in Philadelphia the report’s authors said: ‘This is one of the first studies examining the relationship between intergenerational family size and sperm count as a marker of male factor infertility.
‘We found a significant association between sperm count as markers of male factor infertility and family size, suggesting that lower sperm count is related to smaller intergenerational family size.’
A group of 2,182 men were studied by the researchers, comparing sperm samples to the Utah population database and tracing their families to 1935 and earlier.
Speaking to The Telegraph Dr Peter Schlegel, president of the American Reproductive Society said: ‘This study shows us a clear picture of how male fertility may be inherited.
‘Though it would seem paradoxical that male genes can influence when a woman becomes a mother for the first time and how many children she may have, although they conceded social factors were increasingly playing a larger role in family size and timing.’
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