What Causes Male Infertility? She was wrong. Jane and her husband, Joe, spent most of their 2. By their early 3. Soon, they learned it wouldn't happen on demand. Months and eventually years went by until they were able to conceive with assistance from IVF. Is your hair falling out? Do you gain weight just by looking at food? Do you have a low body temperature? Is your sex drive in the toilet? Are you on a low carb diet. Infertility refers to an inability to conceive after having regular unprotected sex. Infertility can also refer to the biological inability of an individual to. Nicole Rogers, director of sales at the San Francisco Marriott, had one child in her 20s, three in her 30s, and one at 41. If she had to choose, she would pick the. How long does it usually take to get pregnant? In general, a fertile couple has a good chance of getting pregnant within a year, as out of 100 couples trying to. Planning a pregnancy? For the sake of your future child, don't smoke. Be wary of alcohol. Eat for three: yourself, your unborn baby, and your spouse. Fertility Tea: An Herbal Tempest in a Teacup! It's no surprise that herbal fertility teas are moving front and center in current. The Dad Factor The male contribution to infertility has only recently received the scientific attention it deserves. Here are some questions worth asking about the. ![]() Jane says she now has . For so long, Jane points out, women are made to believe we can get pregnant at the drop of a hat. But through their fertility journey, Jane and Joe discovered that their troubles were caused by an issue with Joe. Male infertility leads to trouble conceiving just as often as female infertility. About 1. 0 percent of American couples of childbearing age experience infertility, according to the American Pregnancy Association. But as famous and everyday women alike open up about their struggles, women still shoulder much of the . And issues with a man's reproductive health don't just impact the ability to get pregnant. They can also cause miscarriages. As we become more open about infertility, it's important we don't assume it's all about the would- be mother. Such assumptions put emotionally draining pressure on women, and they're also counterproductive. Research and clinical observations show that environmental and lifestyle factors affecting men could be decreasing sperm quality as we speak. Why We Often Assume It's the Woman's . Paul Turek, a leading specialist in men's reproductive health. Once a month, we know if our periods are regular and often bear responsibility for avoiding pregnancy when sexually active and not trying to conceive. Unlike men, most of us also see an ob- gyn at least once a year. That means we get face time with a doctor who specializes in reproductive health. She holds a master's degree in food. Looking to increase your fertility? Find out some of the best vitamins to boost fertility in both men and women. A stressful daily routine and a highly polluted. Clinical Studies General Information. Naproxen has been studied in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, juvenile arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis. If a woman has tried to have a baby for a while without success, she already has a built- in relationship with a doctor. And when she brings up fertility challenges with that doctor, there's a good chance the physician will focus on potential female factors causing infertility, since they specialize in women's health. There may be a passing mention that the male partner should be checked out too, but that's not the doctor's area of expertise. So it's up to the man to find his own specialist to talk to. Heather Rupe, an ob- gyn and Web. MD contributor, said she observes a discrepancy between the sexes. For Jane and Joe, it was a male factor that lead to their challenges conceiving, but Jane admitted that at first, she assumed it might be a problem with her. After trying for a while and doing all the research that process inspired, I knew that there were quite a few things that had to work correctly for me to conceive even if everything was fine with my husband. I could have issues ovulating regularly, issues with quality of eggs, blocked tubes, uterine fibroids, problems with implantation. I just didn't know much about male infertility or how common it was. Yet the impact of a woman's age has been exaggerated as the main hurdle to conception. A 2. 01. 3 piece in The Atlantic examined research and found that the mainstream media has largely misinterpreted studies about maternal age and reproduction. One stat — that 3. France between 1. More reliable studies have found something different: that fertility of women in their late 2. The impact of a woman's age has been exaggerated as the main hurdle to conception. And then there are messages we hear from health officials. The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) . And the agency's public awareness campaigns about reproductive issues are often targeted toward women. In an especially paternalistic recommendation, the CDC recently told women to stop drinking alcohol if they were trying to get pregnant or simply not using birth control. The idea was that half of pregnancies are unplanned, so drinking without using contraception could put an unborn baby at risk. I think we are also very in tune with our bodies when we are trying to conceive and looking for every possible symptom or problem, which sort of exacerbates that pressure. We watch what we eat, how much we exercise, our mental health. We can easily fall into an obsession over our bodies not being able to do the thing 'we were designed to do.' I can't speak for men, but they just seem to be a bit less neurotic about the whole process. They've got one job, and once it's done, there's not much they can do to change things so stressing about it all doesn't do any good. Just like the burden of child care is still placed squarely on many women, conception has historically been considered a woman's responsibility. England's King Henry VIII and his wives infamously dealt with fertility woes. Historical studies suggest it was an anomaly with his blood group that caused his reproductive challenges, yet his wives took the blame and even paid the price with their lives. While we've certainly seen progress since then, today male infertility is still considered a threat to a man's masculinity. We see this manifested in the rate of elective sterilization procedures. A couple in America who is finished having children is much more likely to pursue a tubal ligation (tube tying) for the woman than a vasectomy for the man. Since a vasectomy is a much less invasive procedure, this suggests men feel pressure to maintain their fertility even when they're done having children. This same underlying pressure could discourage men who are trying to conceive from exploring potential problems. Jane's husband, Joe, compared confronting his fertility challenges with the feeling some may have about seeing a psychologist — it's difficult to take the first step. If we were committed and open- minded about how we would move through the journey, we were going to have kids one day. When you break down cases of infertility, one- third are attributed to the male partner and one- third to the female partner. The rest are due to unknown factors. Here's what these factors and causes look like. Female Factors: The most common female- driven reasons for infertility include blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, uterine or cervical abnormalities, and a decrease in egg quantity or quality. The underlying causes of these issues can include age, hormonal issues, past sexually transmitted infections, and lifestyle factors like smoking, drinking, and weight. Male Factors: Male- driven reasons for infertility can include low sperm count or quality, a lack of sperm production, testicular abnormalities, and trouble reaching climax. Underlying causes include past illnesses, infections, physical trauma, age, genetic disorders, hormonal problems, varicoceles, and lifestyle habits like smoking and exposure to heat or toxins. Underdetermined Factors: If all tests for known female or male factors come back clear but a couple still cannot conceive, the cause is unknown. Why We Need More Awareness About Men's Fertility. While we hear a lot about a woman's biological clock, it's a shame there isn't more awareness about male- factor issues because many of them can be easily solved. Turek said the more we learn about genetics and the hard science of male infertility, the more environment and lifestyle issues appear to matter. Risk factors that can be reduced include obesity, poor diet, recreational drug use, and exposure to heat, industrial solvents, or medications. These tend to impact the future fertility of male babies if their pregnant mothers are exposed to them more than adult men but still could have an impact on male fertility overall. A March 2. 01. 7 New York Times op- ed by Nicholas Kristof laid out how these endocrine- disrupting chemicals may be impacting male fertility on a broader basis. Kristof cited stats that show sperm counts have dropped in the last 7. He also called for more regulations of endocrine- disrupting chemicals in our personal care and other products. Turek, who works with male patients every day, isn't convinced these chemicals are causing a widespread sperm quality crisis yet, but he does think the potential long- term consequences are cause for concern. In addition to harmful chemicals, seemingly harmless ways of relaxing could be holding men back from becoming fathers. A three- year study led by Turek when he was at the University of California, San Francisco, found that hot tubs, jacuzzis, and hot baths could put men at risk for infertility by decreasing total motile sperm count. The good news was that the effects were often reversible within three to six months of avoiding the hot water. The trend toward legalized marijuana is another reason for more awareness about male fertility factors for couples trying to conceive, since cannabis use can also get in the way. Turek conceded that marijuana likely has some medical benefits but said evidence suggests sperm can be negatively impacted by THC. We already knew that smoking of any kind was bad, but the issues with THC suggest it's not just smoking that could hurt male fertility, but also consuming edible marijuana. Many people wrongly assume that a man's job in reproduction ends once the sperm fertilizes the egg. Low- tech solutions like avoiding marijuana and hot tubs could not only improve a couple's chance of conceiving, but also lower the risk of miscarriage. Many people wrongly assume that a man's job in reproduction ends once the sperm fertilizes the egg. But in the days following conception, the egg determines whether or not the sperm is good enough. After the two meet, the egg will . This sort of . Sometimes the issues with the sperm are chromosomal, but other times it's poor DNA integrity. The latter can be caused by lifestyle factors — like smoking and hot tubs — which also means changing those habits could prevent future miscarriages. Men have the benefit of creating their sperm as they go, which means they can also improve it. It Makes Sense to Start With the Man. Common sense would suggest that infertility testing should start with the man. Recall that one- third of infertility cases can be traced back to male factors, no fewer than female- factor- related cases.
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