What is male infertility?
According to the World Health Organization and the International Committee Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART), failure to conceive is defined as clinical infertility if pregnancy is not achieved after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. While either one or both of the partners may contribute to the reproductive challenges of the couple, male infertility, like female infertility, is a clinical diagnosis that can only be determined after formal assessment and testing.
Here’s a list from Igenomix, a pioneer in reproductive genetics, that list down the “wrongs” which can make a man infertile:
1. Excessive alcohol: As per research studies, if you are an alcoholic and are consuming alcohol in excess, there are fair chances you can turn infertile.
2. Smoking: If one is too much into smoking tobacco or marijuana, it’s directly going to affect your fertility. Male smokers can suffer from decreased sperm quality with lower mobility and it also boosts the number of abnormally-shaped sperm.
3. Stress: Recent research claims that if you are stressing out too much, then it is going to affect your sexual health.
4. Tight clothing: We all want to look fashionable, but in the course of doing so, we overlook our comfort. Be careful, it’s not only a matter of comfort now if your jeans or underwear are excessively tight; you experience infertility trouble, too.
5. Hormonal imbalance: We all know that hormones play a vital role in sexual health. In men, fat cells manufacture the oestrogen, so if this gets affected it will create severe complications for their sexual health.
7. Excessive exercise: Excessive exercise could lower your sperm count indirectly by lowering the amount of testosterone in your body. As you might have also guessed, stay off the steroids as they can cause testicular shrinkage, resulting in infertil…
8. Being obese: Are you overweight? Be cautioned, for not only female obesity, male obesity too affects pregnancy. In men, obesity tends to lower the semen parameters. Overweight men are detected with decreased libido and erectile dysfunction.
It is now known that male factor contributes to almost equally (about 30%) to known causes of infertility. Hence, all couples who have been trying for long to conceive would do well not ignore the male infertility factor.
The symptoms of male infertility
- Difficulties while ejaculating
- Decreased amount of fluid ejaculated
- Decreased sexual desire
- Problems in developing or maintaining a firm erection
- Pain or swelling below the penis
- Respiratory infections
- Abnormal breast growth
- Reduced facial or body hair
- Lower than normal sperm count
Male infertility can be diagnosed using the following tests At The Birth Company IVF & Fertility Center in Pune
- Physical examination
- Semen analysis
- Medical history
- Scrotal ultrasound
- Hormone tests
- Urine tests
- Genetic test
- Testicular biopsy
How is male infertility treated?
Treatment depends on what is causing your infertility.
This treatment involves helping your partner get pregnant. This may be through:
- Artificial insemination. This method puts many healthy sperm at the entrance of the cervix or right into the partner’s uterus. The sperm can then make their way to the fallopian tubes.
- IVF, GIFT, and other techniques. In vitro fertilization (IVF) and gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT) work like artificial insemination. Your provider collects your sperm. Then he or she mixes your partner’s eggs with a lot of high-quality sperm. He or she may mix the eggs and sperm in the lab or in your partner’s fallopian tube.
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Your provider injects a single sperm into an egg. Fertilization then takes place under a microscope. Your provider puts the fertilized egg in your partner’s uterus.
The specialists in The Birth Company IVF & Fertility Center in Pune understand your concerns from an emotional perspective as well as the medical one and are here to help. We offer a unique, comprehensive, team approach to diagnosing and treating male infertility to help you achieve your personal goals and dreams for the future. Rapid research advances in the area of male reproduction have brought about dramatic changes in the ability to both diagnose and treat male infertility. The majority of couples suffering from infertility can now be helped to conceive a child on their own.
Schedule a Consultation
The Gynaeworld IVF & Fertility Center Pune
Phone No: +919370090000 / +91 9260040000
Address: 1066-A, Chatushrungi Rd, near Om super market, Model Colony, Shivajinagar, Pune,
Maharashtra 411016