Male Infertility

What is Male Infertility?

Male infertility affects a man’s ability to make his wife pregnant. Male infertility can affect 7% of total men. These infertility issues are underlying conditions that are related to the reproductive organs of a man. The major causes of male infertility are related to some deficiencies in semen and its quality.

Infertility in men is caused when there is some issue with the sperm’s production, function and any blockages in the reproductive system.

Everything You Need to Know About Male Infertility

Causes | Signs and Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Male infertility causes

Male infertility is caused due to the following reasons:

• Not enough sperm production: Your testicles must produce a good amount of sperms to make your female partner pregnant. For pregnancy to occur, one of the man’s testicle should produce sperms, and the body should produce testosterone and other hormones.
• Improper sperm travel: Once the sperms are produced they get mixed with the semen and are transported through delicate tubes. If the sperm doesn’t travel naturally, sperms can’t exit the body, and thus pregnancy is impossible.
• Low sperm count: If the number of sperms in your semen is low, then there are chances of male infertility. It decreases the odds of the sperms fertilizing the egg. Sometimes there is normal production of sperms in the testicles, but these sperms are not properly found in the semen.
• Abnormal sperm function: For sperm to fertilize the egg, it has to be healthy. Healthy sperm is motile and can make its way to the egg and fertilize the egg. With abnormal function, sperm can not penetrate an egg.
• Medical causes: Some medical issues can also cause problems in making a female partner pregnant such as Varicocele, Ejaculation issues, Infections, Chromosome defects tumors, Undescended testicles, Hormone imbalances, Celiac disease, prior surgeries, etc.
• Bad lifestyle: Consumption of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes directly affect male fertility. These harmful habits disturb the normal function of your reproductive organs and cause complications. Also, obesity can be a risk factor for male infertility.

Sub Treatments For Male Infertility

Signs and Symptoms

The main symptom of male infertility is an inability to make the female partner conceive. There are no other obvious symptoms of male infertility.

Also, if there is an underlying health condition that affects fertility, one can see certain symptoms. These symptoms include:

• Ejaculation issues
• A small volume of semen
• Reduced sexual desire
• Issues with maintaining an erection
• Inability to smell
• Swelling, pain or lump in the testicle area
• Low sperm count
• Decreases hair growth

Male infertility treatment

Treatment of male infertility depends upon the cause of the issue. To decide the right treatment, you need to consult your fertility doctor. He will do various tests and investigations as a part of a workup for male infertility. These tests will rule out if there’s any medical condition that is affecting fertility. Male infertility treatment may include:

1. Medicines: Your doctor will prescribe some medicines to improve fertility by treating issues like erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation.
2. Surgery: A surgery may be required to treat or correct varicocele, to repair obstructed vas deferens, to reverse prior vasectomies, to retrieve sperms directly, etc.
3. Hormone Treatment: If male fertility is majorly affected by hormonal imbalance, a doctor will prescribe few hormonal medicines to balance them.
4. ART procedures: ART procedures help couples who face problems in getting pregnant because of the male infertility issue. In these procedures, sperm is collected through normal ejaculation or retrieving directly from testicles or a donor. This sperm is then used in procedures like IVF, ICSI or IUI.

Male infertility prevention

Male infertility can be a serious issue but it can be prevented with some lifestyle changes. As we know some bad habits can affect fertility and cause infertility complications. To prevent male infertility:

• Quit smoking and drinking alcohol.
• Quit drugs.
• Maintain weight.
• Avoid things that can heat testicles.
• Reduce stress.
• Do go for a vasectomy.

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