MADRID, June 30 (UPI) -- Advice that men should abstain from sex before trying to conceive a baby may actually make them less fertile, according to Israeli researchers.
Researchers at Soroka University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel, tested sperm samples from 6,000 men who had abstained from sex for up to two weeks.
While volume increased after 11 to 14 days of abstinence, the shape and form of the sperm from some men deteriorated over time.
In samples from men with reduced sperm counts, the proportion of healthy moving sperm fell significantly after just two days' abstinence.
Dr. Eliahu Levitas, who presented his findings Monday at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Madrid, told the London Telegraph: "Semen volume was directly and significantly correlated with duration of abstinence."
However, the activity of sperm fell for men with low sperm counts, he added.
