Question: I have heard from a few people that when a man masturbates a lot it will cause his sperm to perform poorly when the time comes to try to have a baby and can take up to 5 years for the sperm to right itself. I have looked for this info on line and i have not seen this anywhere. Is this true? Nathan

Answer: Dear Nathan,

Masturbation will not affect the sperm count or quality in the long term when trying to have a baby.

When trying to get pregnant, masturbation should not be practiced around the time of the wife's fertile period. Theoretically, this can decrease the sperm reserve in an individual with a low or low-normal count and thus reduce semen quality at the time that the highest quality is needed - when the wife is ovulating.