While becoming a parent is very important for many couples, around one in seven will have problems conceiving a child. Many investigative procedures target women, particularly if she is in her mid to late 30s or older, but it is worth remembering that two in three men have no clue they are sterile.
If you are having problems conceiving a longed-for child, here is a guide to some of the causes of male infertility, and what you can do to remedy the problem.
Natural Evolution
Modern life is having a disastrous effect on fertility. Birth rates are falling across the developed world and the NHS is groaning under the weight of an ageing population. We haven’t quite reached critical mass, as portrayed so well in the nightmare dystopian world of The Handmaid’s Tale, where fertile women are used as breeders for the wealthy elite, but experts are worried.
Male fertility levels are in decline. Sperm counts halved between 1930 and 1990. The pattern continues and with each year that passes, male fertility drops a little bit further. Experts don’t really know why this is happening across the developed world, but some believe that increasing levels of pollution caused by diesel engines and chemical contamination are to blame. Some experts also suspect that smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy is having an effect, as these activities have only become commonplace during the 20thcentury.
When you factor in declining male fertility with increasing numbers of women choosing to delay motherhood until later life, we have a recipe for disaster. Indeed, there are now more women in their 30s than 20-somethings trying to get pregnant, which is very worrying.
Taking evolutionary matters out of the equation, the main biological causes of male infertility are as follows:
Sperm Count
Fertilisationrelies on a generous number of spermatozoa in a man’s ejaculate. A healthy man produces anywhere from 40 million to 500 million sperm when he ejaculates. Obviously, it only takes one sperm to fertilise an egg, but the more the merrier. As long as a man produces enough sperm to begin the complex journey inside a woman’s body, he’s off to a good start.
Sperm Quality
Quantity matters, but it is not the only thing. Plenty of men produce copious numbers of sperm in their ejaculate, but if that spermsareof inferior quality, it won’t matter how many of them there are. Sperm mobility is a problem. If a man’s sperm can’t swim properly, they have no chance of making it through the cervix and fertilising an egg.
Some male fertility problems are caused by so-called ‘abnormal’ sperm, that is, sperm that area funny shape. This also makes it harder for them to move and fertilise the egg.
Sperm quality issues are usually picked up when a sample is examined under a microscope.
Ejaculation problems
Ejaculation issues affect fertility. If a man suffers from premature ejaculation, his ejaculate may not contain enough sperm, but it isn’t necessarily a problem if you are trying to get pregnant. Of more pressing concern is retrograde ejaculation whereby a man’s ejaculate ends up in the bladder when he orgasms. Clearly, this isn’t going to help you get pregnant.
If a man has ejaculation issues, one way to effect a cure is to use surgical sperm removal. This is where sperm are removed from the epidymis in each testicle and healthy sperm are injected directly into the woman’s egg using the intracytoplasmic sperm injection technique.
Surgical sperm removal is also helpful if a man has had a vasectomy or sperm analysis has revealed that his sperm count is low or of poor quality. You can find out more about this technique by speaking to Suks Minhas, a leading Andrologist in the UK.
Damaged Testicles
Healthy men have two testicles. If a man only has one testicle, his fertility is diminished by 50%. Even if a man has both testicles intact, they are still susceptible to damage. Damaged testicles cause fertility problems by reducing the number of viable sperm and impacting the quality of those that are left.
Men who play contact sports should protect their testicles. It is also wise to avoid wearing tight underwear or trousers, not sitting down for too long, and addressing any congenital defects as soon as possible.
Lifestyle Issues
Don’t underestimate how much of an effect that poor lifestyle choices have on a man’s fertility levels. Men who drink heavily, smoke, take drugs and otherwise abuse their bodies are far more likely to have fertility issues than healthy males.
Obesity, taking steroids, unsafe sexual practices and sexually transmitted infections also impact male fertility. If you are having fertility problems, take a good, hard look at your lifestyle and see if there are any changes you can make.
Don’t leave it too late to seek help with fertility problems. Fertility diminishes with age, so the clock is ticking.
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
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