Eli5: If men have millions of sperm per load, and women have hundreds of thousands of eggs, why does it take some couples months or years for the woman to become pregnant? Even if either is person has a lower count, all you need is 1 of each to meet

Question

Eli5: If men have millions of sperm per load, and women have hundreds of thousands of eggs, why does it take some couples months or years for the woman to become pregnant? Even if either is person has a lower count, all you need is 1 of each to meet

In: 1

Answer 1

Lots of sperm ‘die’. Lots of sperm are needed for the hydrolytic enzyme they release in order to that “one” packet of genetic material to make it into the egg.