If you have unprotected sex for over a year but still cannot get pregnant naturally, you might be infertile. Studies show that around 7% of men suffer from infertility, and in heterosexual couples, nearly 50% of infertility issues occur because of men.
Factors like low sperm count, poor sperm quality, and blockage that hamper sperm delivery cause infertility. Conception is difficult if you have any of these conditions or a medical condition that affects your reproductive health.
Fortunately, treatment for male infertility is available. With proper guidance and treatment, men diagnosed with infertility can have biological children. It’s important to seek medical help, not just for fertility but for your mental well-being as well.
In the meantime, let’s learn more about male infertility, its causes, the factors contributing to infertility, and the available treatment options.
Causes of Male Infertility
Male infertility is linked to many biological and environmental factors. Here are the common causes:
- Low Sperm Count: An average man produces 20-150 million sperm per milliliter of semen. You might have an inadequate sperm count if your semen sample shows less than the normal sperm count. The fewer sperm you produce, the lower the chances a healthy sperm will fertilize an egg.
- Abnormal Sperm Motility: Genetic factors, your age, lifestyle, and oxidative stress are a few critical things affecting your sperm motility. Conception is difficult in couples with immotile sperm or sperm that do not move in a proper direction, making it harder to reach the egg for fertilization.
- Abnormal Sperm Morphology: Normal sperm feature an oval shape and a long tail. However, it’s not uncommon to produce sperm with head and tail defects, such as two-headed sperm or sperm with two tails. If, however, you produce a large volume of sperm with abnormal morphology, you might experience difficulty in conceiving naturally.
- Varicocele: Varicocele is the swelling of the veins in your scrotum. It’s one of the causes of male infertility. Fortunately, the condition is reversible, and proper treatment makes it possible to conceive naturally.
- Hormonal Imbalances: Hormonal imbalances in men can also be the cause of infertility. The most crucial hormones linked to men’s reproductive health are thyroid, prolactin, human chorionic gonadotropin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone. The problem in fertility occurs when your body produces too much or too little of these hormones.
- Medical Conditions: Medical conditions, such as tumors in your prostate or testicles, can directly affect your fertility. It can block the production and transportation of semen. Certain treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation therapy, affect the DNA structure of the sperm and might also destroy them, leading to male infertility.
- Lifestyle Factors: People taking steroids to build their muscle strength are likely to experience male infertility, as these drugs can shrink your testicles and hamper the production of sperm. Alcohol consumption is linked to erectile dysfunction and low sperm production in men. Moreover, your weight can interfere with your hormonal balance, affecting sperm production.
- Blocked Tubes: Blockage in the vas deferens, epididymis, or the urethra can be the cause of male infertility. A man might produce sufficient sperm, but blocked tubes will interrupt sperm delivery.
- Chromosomal Defects: Infertility is common in men born with chromosomal abnormalities, such as Klinefelter’s syndrome and other genetic disorders.
Diagnosis of Male Infertility
Infertility has many causes. Identifying the underlying condition behind infertility is crucial for partners planning pregnancy. Here are some tests that your healthcare provider will order to determine the cause of male infertility.
Semen Analysis: You must give a semen sample to a fertility specialist. The sample is then sent to a laboratory, where it’s evaluated for sperm count, movement, and morphology. Your doctor may recommend multiple semen tests to get accurate results, as the sperm count might vary in each specimen.
Hormone Testing: Blood tests are used for hormone testing. They show the production of testosterone, thyroid, and other reproductive hormones that affect male fertility.
Genetic Testing: If you have a family history of infertility or your healthcare provider suspects a genetic disorder to be the cause of your infertility, they might order genetic testing. Single-gene testing, Karyotyping, and Y chromosome testing are the most common genetic tests.
Scrotal Ultrasound: Scrotal ultrasound detects abnormalities in the structure of the testicles and surrounding tissues. It can also detect varicocele (the swelling of the veins in your scrotum) and infection in your testes. Sometimes, a scrotal ultrasound is ordered to rule out the possibility of benign or malignant mass formation inside your testicles.
Testicular Biopsy: A testicular biopsy is another male fertility test to detect sperm quality and quantity. It’s a minimally invasive test in which tissues in the testicles are collected with a thin needle. If the report is normal, your infertility is most likely associated with sperm delivery.
Treatment Options for Male Infertility
Male infertility can be reversed and treated, given that you catch the underlying cause of the issue. Sometimes, a couple must opt for In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) and other Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) to ensure a successful pregnancy. Here are the treatment options for male infertility.
Lifestyle Modifications
Smoking, steroids, and non-prescription drugs can affect your fertility. Likewise, radiation therapy or exposure to certain chemicals can lower your sperm count and affect the morphology and overall quality of your sperm. You should avoid alcohol, smoking, drugs, and other substances that can pose a risk to your fertility. Moreover, living a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet, regular exercise, and meditation can work wonders for your reproductive health.
Medication
If your infertility is linked to hormonal imbalance, hormone medication can bring the hormone levels to a normal range and help you conceive naturally.
Surgery
You can consider vasectomy reversal if you had a vasectomy earlier. The procedure involves unblocking the vas deferens, which allows sperm to enter your semen. Likewise, a blockage in your epididymis can prevent the delivery of sperm into your semen, making pregnancy impossible. Your doctor will prescribe Vasoepididymostomy—a surgery to unblock your epididymis.
Assisted Reproductive Technology
Men with azoospermia and other medical issues that make pregnancy difficult can consider assisted reproductive technology. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most popular option. It involves a series of steps in which a woman’s eggs and her partner’s sperm are manually fertilized in a lab. The resulting embryo is implanted into the woman’s uterus.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is another ART procedure that involves sperm injection into the woman’s uterus. The increased volume of sperm entering your fallopian tube will significantly increase the chances of fertilization and pregnancy.
Living With Male Infertility
One of the biggest challenges of male infertility is the emotional or psychological impact it has on a couple. Some men associate masculinity with their ability to get a woman pregnant. The infertility diagnosis for such people can be devastating.
In fact, some men experience stress, depression, and other mental health disorders because of infertility. Note that psychological and physical stress won’t help. If anything, it negatively affects your ability to conceive. Stress can lead to hormonal imbalance, as a sudden spike in cortisol levels can interfere with your reproductive hormones.
It’s important to seek professional help if you experience psychological issues due to infertility. Talking to a counselor or a medical professional specializing in fertility treatments will help you know your treatment options. They will tell you whether you can have biological children naturally or if you should go for IVF and other ART procedures.
You should also talk to a friend, colleague, partner, or family about your struggles in conceiving a child. It will help you manage stress and cope with the emotional challenges.
Here are a few tips that can help you manage your emotional health after an infertility diagnosis:
- Visit a fertility specialist to figure out the cause of infertility (some causes, such as your lifestyle factors, are easily manageable).
- Follow a healthy lifestyle with a proper diet
- Consider weight loss plans
- Seek help for stress
- Quit smoking, alcohol, and drugs
Conclusion
Infertility affects many men worldwide. While it can be mentally disturbing to cope with the burden of infertility, know that modern science has made it possible for many infertile couples to have their biological children. If you can’t conceive naturally, artificial techniques can help. You must see a fertility specialist to find out the root cause of your infertility. Australian Concept will offer guidance on the available treatment options and what might work best for your case.
2 Comments
Muhammed Ahmed
Assalam o Allikum
MA SHA ALLAH we have 4 kids, 3 Daughter and 1 Son.
Physically both are fit.
we wish a baby boy for completing our family.
I am not a rich man. I am simple account assistant in a real estate farm and dose not afforded so much fees recently i have receive a comety PKRs 80,000/-
If these rupees the process are possible then Please contact me
We both are at the age of 40
Regards
Muhammed Ahmed
ACIMC Webmaster
Dear,
We have experienced Consultants at ACIMC. Please come for a first free consultation with coordinator doctors.
For an appointment please call on our UAN: 0304-111-2229, WhatsApp: 0309-333-2229