Male Infertility

Fertility – Male Infertility

A large study was undertaken in 2004 that shows sperm counts have fallen by almost a third since 1989. It has also been said that British men fare quite badly on the European stakes when it comes to sperm count, with Finland being shown as having the best.

Infertility affects around one in 25 men, however when a couple are diagnosed as being infertile the thoughts as to why often fall straight away on the woman even though infertility problems are equal in both men and women. 30% to 40% of problems are caused by male conditions and 30% to 40% of problems are caused by female conditions, with the last 20% to 30% being a combination of the two.
The top causes of male infertility are low sperm count, slow sperm movement and abnormal morphology (the shape and size of the sperm) as well as problems with semen.

Around 200 million sperm are mixed with semen to form ejaculation. In most men 15 to 45 million of these sperm are healthy enough to fertilize an egg even though only 400 survive ejaculation and only 40 actually reach the egg and then one lone sperm goes on to fertilize the egg. This can be seen as one of the reasons as to why it can take some couples up to two years to conceive.

In order to ensure a healthy sperm count there are certain lifestyle changes that can be made in order to increase your chance of fertility. Examples of these are stop smoking, there is a link between smoking and a low sperm count, decrease drinking, watch your weight as being under or over weight could have affects on your sperm count and exercise in moderation as excessive exercise could reduce your sperm count. Also working within certain professions could actually affect your fertility. If you work in construction, landscaping or in agriculture then you could be exposed to toxins. Regular contact with toxins and poisons can serious increase your risk of infertility.

There are many factors that can cause males to experience infertility problems such as a low sperm count, examples of these are:

Obstructive problems (blockages in the sperm carrying tubes) – such as Groin surgery, trauma to the scrotum sack covering the testicles or sexually transmitted disease such as Chlamydia Testicular injury or disease – A blow to the testicles, which may occur in sport or during a fight, can cause swelling of the testicles, or bleeding in or around them, twisting of a testicle on its cord and Mumps, however this will only affect fertility if it causes orchitis and, even then, only rarely. Sperm disorders – such as disorders of the sperm count, movement and shape. Genetic disorders – problems with chromosomes (packages of genetic material) occur in about 2 to 20 per cent of infertile men Problems with erection/ejaculation – this refers to aspects such as failure to ejaculate, premature ejaculation or a condition known as erectile dysfunction, which is when there is an inability to attain or maintain an erection adequate for intercourse Hormonal problems – Testosterone deficiency can reduce fertility and may be caused by problems with testicular testosterone production, or problems with the pituitary gland or hypothalamus in the brain, which control testosterone production.

Male infertility as well as female infertility can be helped through fertility treatment such as fertility drugs and IVF treatment.

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